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The mutation accumulation theory of aging was first proposed by Peter Medawar in 1952 as an evolutionary explanation for biological aging and the associated decline in fitness that accompanies it. [1] Medawar used the term 'senescence' to refer to this process.
The somatic mutation theory of ageing states that accumulation of mutations in somatic cells is the primary cause of aging. A comparison of somatic mutation rate across several mammal species found that the total number of accumulated mutations at the end of lifespan was roughly equal across a broad range of lifespans. [16]
DNA damage is an abnormal chemical structure in DNA, while a mutation is a change in the sequence of standard base pairs. The theory that DNA damage is the primary cause of aging is based, in part, on evidence in human and mouse that inherited deficiencies in DNA repair genes often cause accelerated aging.
In contrast to DNA damage, a mutation is a change in the base sequence of the DNA. A mutation cannot be recognized by enzymes once the base change is present in both DNA strands, and thus a mutation cannot be repaired. At the cellular level, mutations can cause alterations in protein function and regulation.
A mutation accumulation (MA) experiment is a genetic experiment in which isolated and inbred lines of organisms (so-called MA lines) are maintained such that the effect of natural selection is minimized, with the aim of quantitatively estimating the rates at which spontaneous mutations (mutations not caused by exogenous mutagens) occur in the studied organism.
Many life span influencing genes affect the rate of DNA damage or DNA repair. Genetics of aging is generally concerned with life extension associated with genetic alterations, rather than with accelerated aging diseases leading to reduction in lifespan. The first mutation found to increase longevity in an animal was the age-1 gene in ...
Senescence (/ s ɪ ˈ n ɛ s ə n s /) or biological aging is the gradual deterioration of functional characteristics in living organisms. Whole organism senescence involves an increase in death rates or a decrease in fecundity with increasing age, at least in the later part of an organism's life cycle.
An epigenetic clock is a biochemical test that can be used to measure age. The test is based on modifications that change over time and regulate how genes are expressed. Typically, the test examines DNA methylation levels, measuring the accumulation of methyl groups to one's DNA molecules, or more recently, based on the histone