Mitochondrial dysfunction has long been associated with aging, making preventing or reversing the organelle’s decay a high priority for longevity researchers. One key target for such work is the decline in the organelle’s membrane potential: the difference in electrical charge between each side of the inner mitochondrial membrane that is essential for energy production. Now, research published May 12 as a bioRxiv preprint that has not yet been peer reviewed demonstrates that it’s possible to genetically engineer a light-activated proton pump into the mitochondria of Caenorhabditis elegans that maintains the voltage across the inner mitochondrial membrane as the worms age—and doing so, prolongs the animals’ lifespan.
“There are some interventions targeted to mitochondria that are able to extend [the] lifespan of diverse species,” says Universidade Federal de São Paulo biochemist Fernanda Marques da Cunha, who did not participate in this study. “But this is a little bit different because they ...
