Cooper E L
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.
Aging (Milano). 1994 Feb;6(1):5-23. doi: 10.1007/BF03324208.
Senescence is a ubiquitous phenomenon, i.e., all vertebrates and invertebrates will ultimately manifest it. Any attempt to answer the question of adaptive significance of the aging process must take into account the universality of and change in the DNA molecule that governs, integrates, regulates and ensures the vitality of all organisms. With invertebrates and from the comparative viewpoint, there are examples of: 1) rapid senescence and sudden death; 2) gradual senescence with definite life span; 3) negligible senescence; 4) genetic influence on life span, mortality rates, and age-related diseases. Although these characteristics are ascribed to invertebrates and vertebrates, this need not force upon invertebrates the organization, structure and eventual features of vertebrate senescence. "Invertebrate gerontologists" can thus, freely delve into certain unique aspects of what may be the more primitive mechanisms of aging in invertebrates. In contrast, using the opposite strategy that is still problematic, i.e., linking invertebrate and vertebrate aging, seems to give us an approach to universality that might eventually reveal more readily obvious and homologous kinship.
衰老 是一种普遍存在的现象，即所有脊椎动物和无脊椎动物最终都会表现出衰老。任何试图回答衰老过程适应性意义问题的尝试，都必须考虑到控制、整合、调节并确保所有生物体活力的DNA分子的普遍性和变化。从无脊椎动物以及比较的角度来看，存在以下几种例子：1）快速衰老和突然死亡；2）具有确定寿命的逐渐衰老；3）可忽略不计的衰老；4）基因对寿命、死亡率和与年龄相关疾病的影响。尽管这些特征既归因于无脊椎动物，也归因于脊椎动物，但这并不一定将脊椎动物衰老的组织、结构及最终特征强加于无脊椎动物。因此，“无脊椎动物老年学家”可以自由地深入研究无脊椎动物中可能更为原始的衰老机制的某些独特方面。相比之下，采用仍然存在问题的相反策略，即将无脊椎动物和脊椎动物的衰老联系起来，似乎能为我们提供一种通向普遍性的方法，最终可能更容易揭示出明显的同源关系。
