Science 292: 288-290 (2001)

Regulation of longevity and stress resistance by Sch9 in yeast

Paola Fabrizio, Fabiola Pozza, Scott D. Pletcher, Christi M. Gendron, Valter D. Longo

Division of Biogerontology, Andrus Gerontology Center, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0191, USA.
Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, 18057 Germany.

The protein kinase Akt/protein kinase B (PKB) is implicated in insulin signaling in mammals and functions in a pathway that regulates longevity and stress resistance in Caenorhabditis elegans. We screened for long-lived mutants in nondividing yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and identified mutations in adenylate cyclase and SCH9, which is homologous to Akt/PKB, that increase resistance to oxidants and extend life-span by up to threefold. Stress-resistance transcription factors Msn2/Msn4 and protein kinase Rim15 were required for this life-span extension. These results indicate that longevity is associated with increased investment in maintenance and show that highly conserved genes play similar roles in life-span regulation in S. cerevisiae and higher eukaryotes.