Studying Seemingly Immortal Lichens, in a Place for the Dead

Hillary Rosner, NY Times

December 31^st 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/science/studying-seemingly-immortal-lichens-in-a-place-for-the-dead.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=science

Summary:

Aging, also known as senescence, has previously been thought to be a fundamental tenet of cellular biology. Cells were believed to be incapable of immortality, as over time, cells will accrue numerous mutations, eventually leading to death. However, this may not hold true for certain organisms. Dr. Anne Pringle studies lichens (algae and fungus living in a symbiotic relationship) in a New England cemetery, measuring and analyzing the lichens every fall. Over time, she has been studying whether lichens can die of age. Like many other fungi, with yeast as an exception, lichens can grow and live for incredibly long periods of time without showing signs of deterioration, leading researchers to believe that they, in fact, do not senesce. However, it is important to note that despite the fact that these fungi do not age, they can die; as Dr. Pringle says, “A bus can still run over them,” but they can only be killed by lack of resources or external forces. This has lead researchers to wonder why this trait has not appeared in other organisms, such as humans, as it appears to be clearly selected for. But, in reality, the human males who produce more babies, and thus are more biologically fit, are predisposed to prostate cancer, causing prostate cancer, and as a result, mortality, instead of “immortality” would be spread to the next generation. Yet, fungi are unique in that as they age, they are actually less likely to die, which gives a possible indication that even in fungi, “immortality” may not selected for, perhaps instead we happen to see only the longer living (fungi can live for 1000’s of years), but perhaps less fertile fungi. However, research is being done in fungi, as well as, the bristlecone pine tree and the wandering albatross, both of which may also avoid senescence, to determine the specific genes responsible for this “immortality” for possible use in human medication.

Relevance:

This article is extremely relevant to many of the topics we are discussing in Biology this term. First of all, this is relevant to our current unit of evolution, as the article discusses whether “immortal” individuals of species are more biologically fit and how this trait may have become common in some organisms but not others. It also relates to our molecular genetics and biotechnology unit in that researchers are attempting to isolate the genes for “immortality and use them in human medication, maybe creating transgenic humans or other organisms.