In this article, the lifespan of turquoise killifish is
examined as a proxy for human aging. Turquoise killifish are the shortest-lived
vertebrate species studied in labs. Though greatly expedited, researchers have
discovered that the mechanisms of aging in turquoise killifish are very similar
to human beings.
To closely examine the mechanisms of aging in killifish, the
entire genome of the killifish was sequnced, looking specifically at regions
known to be associated with aging in mice and humans. Researchers then inserted
new genes into the killifish genome, specifically TERT. TERT encodes for a
protein that builds and protects DNA telomeres (which have been found to a play
a role in aging).
In this study researchers altered the TERT gene in killifish
so that it was no longer functional. This had catastrophic effects on adult
killifish, leading to early infertility, gastrointestinal atrophy, blood
thinning, among other defects associated with typical aging. However, despite
these shortcomings, killifish with non-functional TERT did not die at ages
significantly lower than that of functional TERT fish. This preliminary
research suggested telomerase deficiency plays a significant role in the onset of
age related pathologies.
NYTimes Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/science/in-short-lived-fish-secrets-to-aging.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fmatter
Original Publication: http://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(15)00116-6?cc=y
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