Informational hypothesis of aging: how does the germ line "avoid" the aging?
Karnaukhov, A.V.; Karnaukhova, E.V.
Biofizika 54(4): 726-732
2009
ISSN/ISBN: 0006-3029 PMID: 19795796 Document Number: 630344
An informational hypothesis of aging has been formulated, and an imitational model of the survival of a population of multicellular organisms under conditions of informational degradation of the cell genetic material (accumulation of random errors in the genome) has been constructed. It is assumed that the basic mechanism of "rejuvenation" (decrease in the number of errors) of the genetic material during its transition from parents to their progeny is the phenomenon of crossing-over during gametogenesis and the competitive selection of gametes participating in the formation of the progenitor genetic material. Within the framework of the imitational model, it is shown that this mechanism, which exists in most eukaryotes, provides the stability of the population gene pool in a large number of generations, whereas in a single organism, the amount of genome errors increases with aging.