Telomere

Introduction The field of telomere biology has been an active area of research in recent time, especially so following the work by Hayflick and Olovnikov. Expanding on his, Elizabeth Blackburn and Joseph Gall noticed that the end of the chromosomes from Tetrahymena thermophila contained the six base sequence TTGGGG iterated many times (Blackburn and Gall, 1978). Over the decades, literature has arisen that has revealed many things regarding telomeres. However, as with the case with many scientific endeavours, as one question is answered, another would arise. As a result, research in telomere biology has become one which many are deciding to take on. We know that proper replication of the telomeric DNA at chromosome ends is critical for…

In the article Role of Telomeres in Aging, HoJun Kweon and HyoJu Kweon describe the effects of shortened telomeres on cellular aging. Inside the nucleus of a cell, all genes are arranged in two strands of DNA called chromosomes. In order to help elongate and protect the genetic material of cells as well as make it possible for cell division to occur, telomeres are at the ends of the DNA. Because they modify cellular responses based on hereditary and environmental factors, things such as…

divide indefinitely” (2). Typically a cell will stop dividing on it’s own and when the cell divides without telomerase happening, the telomeres will be shorten down. Telomeres is the the ends of the chromosomes. “During development of a multi-cellular a special enzyme called telomerase keeps your telomeres long” (2). When it comes to cancer cells, 9 out of time 10 times the cells have activated telomerase. “However, too much telomerase can also lead to cancer by helping cells to become…

Systemic Telomere Length and Aging Telomeres represent essential structure for genome stability, since their role is to protect the extremities of linear chromosomes from degradation and recombination. Furthermore, they also participate in the nuclear architecture, as well as in the meiosis-specific genome recombination and reorganization. Telomere length is the result of the equilibrium between shortening and lengthening mechanisms, and in many different organisms there is a decrease in…

Dyskeratosis congenita (DKC) is a rare congenital disorder that results from defects in telomere maintenance due to mutations in genes coding for proteins that participate in telomere maintenance. It is a progressive disease with a highly variable phenotype, making diagnosis difficult. The disease is characterized by the classic triad of abnormal skin pigmentation, nail dystrophy, and oral leukoplakia (white patches in the mouth) (Figure 1) but these symptoms might not always manifest in…

Chronological lifespan of S. cerevisiae mutants lacking telomere capping protein Cdc13 and Exo1 Lay summary For over 25 years, yeast has been used as a model to understand cellular processes such as how; DNA is repaired and produced, also for understanding different aspects of the cell lifecycle and principle molecular processes in eukaryotes (the same type of cells that make up humans, animals and plants). Because yeast can be easily grown until it dies in a relatively short time, it is an…

function of our life and all life is to reproduce but to get to that we have over came many challenges. On Chromosome 14, the presence of the TEP1 gene seems to be the source of the long lived existence of life on earth. TEP1 codes for a protein that part of telomerase, which is inherently important for the immortality of cells in the human body. At the end of every chromosome, there is a section of repetitive nucleotides sequence called telomeres. The TEP1…

proteins that function to stabilize these regions (García-Calzón, et al. 2014). Telomeres are a non-coding region of the DNA, and their main function is to help maintain chromosomal stability, as well as to protect chromosomes from serious complications, such as end-to-end fusions, and degradation (Martens, et al. 2016; Nielsen, et al. 2015; Savela, et al. 2013). Telomeres are not infinite, but they can be regenerated by the enzyme telomerase. Telomerase is active in utero, as well as in some…

uncontrollable cell division started at the breast, it is called breast cancer, if the cancer started in the melanocytes of the skin, it is call the melanoma cancer. Now, what is telomerase? Telomerase is a type of ribonucleoprotein enzyme in the human body that mediates RNA-dependent synthesis of telomeric repeats in species ranging from yeast to human. It is also function as the telomere lengthening mechanism by adding TTAGGG sequences to the end of existing chromosomes. This enzyme is found…

their discovery of telomeres and telomerases; but what are they and why did the Nobel prize committee find their discovery so important? Drs ezilabeth Blackburn, Jack Szostak and Carol Greiders discovery of telomeres and telomerases can be considered as one of the key milestones in our understanding of DNA replication in eukaryotes as they helped us figure out how the ends of linear chromosomes are replicated. There discovery of telomeres and telomerase did not only fil A DNA molecule is…