{"title":"The ageing virus hypothesis: Epigenetic ageing beyond the Tree of Life.","authors":"Éric Bapteste","doi":"10.1002/bies.202400099","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A recent thought-provoking theory argues that complex organisms using epigenetic information for their normal development and functioning must irreversibly age as a result of epigenetic signal loss. Importantly, the scope of this theory could be considerably expanded, with scientific benefits, by analyzing epigenetic ageing beyond the borders of the Tree of Life. Viruses that use epigenetic signals for their normal functioning may also age, that is, present an increasing risk of failing to complete their individual life cycle and to disappear with time. As viruses are ancient, abundant, and infect a considerable diversity of hosts, the ageing virus hypothesis, if verified, would have important consequences for many fields of the Life sciences. Uncovering ageing viruses would integrate the most abundant and biologically central entities on Earth into theories of ageing, enhance virology, gerontology, evolutionary biology, molecular ecology, genomics, and possibly medicine through the development of new therapies manipulating viral ageing.</p>","PeriodicalId":9264,"journal":{"name":"BioEssays","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BioEssays","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.202400099","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
A recent thought-provoking theory argues that complex organisms using epigenetic information for their normal development and functioning must irreversibly age as a result of epigenetic signal loss. Importantly, the scope of this theory could be considerably expanded, with scientific benefits, by analyzing epigenetic ageing beyond the borders of the Tree of Life. Viruses that use epigenetic signals for their normal functioning may also age, that is, present an increasing risk of failing to complete their individual life cycle and to disappear with time. As viruses are ancient, abundant, and infect a considerable diversity of hosts, the ageing virus hypothesis, if verified, would have important consequences for many fields of the Life sciences. Uncovering ageing viruses would integrate the most abundant and biologically central entities on Earth into theories of ageing, enhance virology, gerontology, evolutionary biology, molecular ecology, genomics, and possibly medicine through the development of new therapies manipulating viral ageing.
期刊介绍：
molecular – cellular – biomedical – physiology – translational research – systems - hypotheses encouraged
BioEssays is a peer-reviewed, review-and-discussion journal. Our aims are to publish novel insights, forward-looking reviews and commentaries in contemporary biology with a molecular, genetic, cellular, or physiological dimension, and serve as a discussion forum for new ideas in these areas. An additional goal is to encourage transdisciplinarity and integrative biology in the context of organismal studies, systems approaches, through to ecosystems, where appropriate.
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