Genetics of lifespan in C-elegans: molecular diversity, physiological complexity, mechanistic simplicity

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is used as a model system for the study of aging. Several mutant strains that have an increased lifespan have been isolated and characterized genetically and molecularly. Molecular analysis reveals that diverse types of gene products can affect worm lifespan, incl uding proteins active in signal transduction, transcription and silencing f actors, mitochondrial enzymes, and at least one protein that affects telome re length. Genetic analysis, however, suggests that these activities all co nverge on a few key mechanisms that impinge on lifespan, namely the product ion, repair and prevention of molecular damage.