Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, University College London and Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom; email:
Annu Rev Genet. 2019 Dec 3;53:239-261. doi: 10.1146/annurev-genet-112618-043650. Epub 2019 Sep 5.
Aging is a natural process of organismal decay that underpins the development of myriad diseases and disorders. Extensive efforts have been made to understand the biology of aging and its regulation, but most studies focus solely on the host organism. Considering the pivotal role of the microbiota in host health and metabolism, we propose viewing the host and its microbiota as a single biological entity whose aging phenotype is influenced by the complex interplay between host and bacterial genetics. In this review we present how the microbiota changes as the host ages, but also how the intricate relationship between host and indigenous bacteria impacts organismal aging and life span. In addition, we highlight other microbiota-dependent mechanisms that potentially regulate aging, and present experimental animal models for addressing these questions. Importantly, we propose microbiome dysbiosis as an additional hallmark and biomarker of aging.
衰老是生物体衰退的自然过程，它是多种疾病和失调发展的基础。人们已经做出了广泛的努力来理解衰老的生物学及其调控，但大多数研究仅关注宿主生物体。考虑到微生物组在宿主健康和代谢中的关键作用，我们建议将宿主及其微生物组视为一个单一的生物实体，其衰老表型受到宿主和细菌遗传之间复杂相互作用的影响。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了随着宿主年龄的增长，微生物组如何发生变化，但也介绍了宿主与土著细菌之间复杂关系如何影响生物体的衰老和寿命。此外，我们强调了其他可能调节衰老的依赖于微生物组的机制，并提出了用于解决这些问题的实验动物模型。重要的是，我们提出微生物组失调是衰老的另一个标志和生物标志物。
