title: Species-specific lifespans: Can it be a lottery based on the mode of mitochondrial DNA replication?
abstract: Accumulating evidence suggests that the aging process is, in part, driven by accumulation of large deletions in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Here, I present a hypothesis that significant variations in lifespans can be explained by species-specific mtDNA sequence features that cause a shift in the mode of mtDNA replication and thus preclude the formation of large deletions.
authors.affiliation: Central Arkansas Healthcare System and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA. Electronic address: mkhaidakov@uams.edu.
authors.forename: Magomed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khaidakov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000502:physiology*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Alternative origins of replication; Deletions; Direct repeats; Lifespan; mtDNA