Evidence for the hallmarks of human aging in replicatively aging yeast

Abstract

Recently, efforts have been made to characterize the hallmarks that accompany and contribute to the phenomenon of aging, as most relevant for humans [1]. Remarkably, studying the finite lifespan of the single cell eu-karyote budding yeast (recently reviewed in [2] and [3]) has been paramount for our understanding of aging. Here, we compile observations from literature over the past decades of research on replicatively aging yeast to highlight how the hallmarks of aging in humans are present in yeast. We find strong evidence for the majority of these, and summarize how yeast aging is especially characterized by the hallmarks of genomic instability, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, and mitochondrial dysfunction.