title: Mutation load and human longevity.
abstract: Since paternal age at reproduction is considered to be the main factor determining human spontaneous mutation rate (Crow, J. (1993) Environ. Mol. Mutagenesis, 21, 122-129), the effect of paternal age on human longevity was studied on 8,518 adult persons (at age 30 and above) from European aristocratic families with well-known genealogy. The daughters born to old fathers (50-59 years) lose about 4.4 years of their life compared to daughters of young fathers (20-29 years) and these losses are highly statistically significant, while sons are not significantly affected. Since only daughters inherit the paternal X chromosome, this sex-specific decrease in daughters' longevity might indicate that human longevity genes (crucial, house-keeping genes) sensitive to mutational load might be located in this chromosome.
authors.affiliation: Center for Longevity Research at A.N. Belozersky Institute, Moscow State University, Russia. gavrilov@glas.apc.org
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Gavrilov
authors.forename: N S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Gavrilova
authors.forename: V N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Kroutko
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Evdokushkina
authors.forename: V G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Semyonova
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Gavrilova
authors.forename: E V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Lapshin
authors.forename: N N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Evdokushkina
authors.forename: Y E
authors.initials: YE
authors.lastname: Kushnareva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D009679:Nuclear Family; D010331:Paternal Age; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000235:genetics*