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Abstract
Despite a number of biochemical and lifestyle differences which should increase risk of oxidative damage to their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and thus reduce expected lifespan, avian species often display longer lifespans than mammals of similar body mass. Recent work in mammalian ageing has demonstrated that functional mitochondrial copy number declines with age. We noted that several bird species display duplication of the control region (CR) of the mtDNA to form a pseudo-control region (YCR), apparently an avian-specific phenomenon. To investigate whether the presence of this duplication may play a similar role in longevity to mitochondrial copy number in mammals, we correlated body mass and longevity in 92 avian families and demonstrate a significant association. Furthermore, outlier analysis demonstrated a significant (p=0.01) difference associated with presence of the YCR duplication in longer-lived avian species. Further research is required to determine if the YCR does indeed alter mitochondrial function or resilience to oxidative damage, but these findings provide an intriguing hint of how mitochondrial sequences may be related to an extended lifespan.
Highlights
Mitochondria play an essential dual role in homeotherms by encoding proteins that form the essential components of the mitochondrial energy generation pathway, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) [1]
Further research is required to determine if the YCR does alter mitochondrial function or resilience to oxidative damage, but these findings provide an intriguing hint of how mitochondrial sequences may be related to an extended lifespan
Lifespan and body weight information for 1436 avian species from a total of 149 avian families were determined by combining the datasets of AnAge [18], GlobalSpieces and data collected by Valcu et al [19] with additional literature searches
Summary
Mitochondria play an essential dual role in homeotherms by encoding proteins that form the essential components of the mitochondrial energy generation pathway, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) [1]. OXPHOS generates heat that is used to maintain the organism’s body temperature and energy that is utilized for synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to perform work [1]. This is achieved “at the cost” of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and free radical production due to electron leakage from the respiratory chain. As an originally free-living prokaryotic organism that was engulfed by a precursor of the modern eukaryotic cell about two billion years ago, cytoplasmic mitochondria have retained their own plasmid-like circular genome [4]. Most of the estimated 2,000 or so original genes have become integrated into the cellular nuclear DNA rendering vertebrate mitochondrial DNAs as circular molecules of around www.aging‐us.com
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