An intervention resembling caloric restriction prolongs life span and retards aging in yeast

Abstract

SPECIFIC AIMSWe addressed the hypothesis that caloric restriction acts at the cellular level to extend longevity and postpone senescence in eukaryotes, and provides one of multiple mechanisms of metabolic control in aging. The effect of progressive reduction in the glucose or amino acids concentration of the growth medium on the life span and aging of individual Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells has been examined, and the interaction of this caloric restriction effect with the retrograde response pathway, which signals the functional status of the mitochondrion and determines longevity, has been investigated.PRINCIPAL FINDINGS1. Lowering the glucose concentration increases mean and maximum life span of yeast cells in both broth and synthetic mediumReduction of the glucose concentration in a modified broth routinely used for culturing yeast resulted in an increase in the life span of individual cells, measured by the number of daughters they produced, which was the more extensive the greater the reduction in ...