Transcriptional Error Rate Contributes to Aging Phenotype

"Increased transcriptional errors in aged organisms have been demonstrated for multiple species; however, mechanistic details remained elusive. In a recent issue of Nature, Debès et al. reveal a novel form of aging-associated molecular damage, demonstrating that Pol II transcriptional elongation rate increases with age, presumably due to reduced nucleosomal density, whereas targeted reduction of Pol II speed can partially ameliorate this deleterious phenotype and extend lifespan in animals, such as roundworms and fruit flies."