The search for the genetic basis of aging: gerontogenes in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

摘要

There have been numerous studies of seeking evidence for common mechanisms of aging. Study of Caenorhabditis elegans has provided much information and breakthrough techniques for gerontologists. The influence of genome on life span is clearly observable, and several genes have been defined in the last decade. These genes also seem to govern resistance to oxidative stress involving aging process. In this review we survey the ways in which genetical investigations have done among gerontologists in the last decade, some of the consequences of the genes which are responsible for life span, and some of prospects for life span determination mechanism and aging process control mechanism in C. elegans.