Screening for mouse genes lost in mammals with long lifespans.

backgroundGerontogenes include those that modulate life expectancy in various species and may be the actual longevity genes. We believe that a long (relative to body weight) lifespan in individual rodent and primate species can be due, among other things, to the loss of particular genes that are present in short-lived species of the same orders. These genes can also explain the widely different rates of aging among diverse species as well as why similarly sized rodents or primates sometimes have anomalous life expectancies (e.g., naked mole-rats and humans). Here, we consider the gene loss in the context of the prediction of Williams' theory that concerns the reallocation of physiological resources of an organism between active reproduction (r-strategy) and self-maintenance (K-strategy). We have identified such lost genes using an original computer-aided approach; the software considers the loss of a gene as disruptions in gene orthology, local gene synteny or both.

resultsA method and software identifying the genes that are absent from a predefined

conclusionsThe method and program, which were applied here to screen for gene losses that can accompany increased lifespan, were also applied to study reduced regenerative capacity and development of the telencephalon, neoteny, etc. Some of these results have been carefully tested experimentally. Therefore, we assume that the method is widely applicable.