Chromatin instability and mitochondrial decline are conserved processes that contribute to cellular aging. Although both processes have been explored individually in the context of their distinct signaling pathways, the mechanism that determines which process dominates during aging of individual cells is unknown. We show that interactions between the chromatin silencing and mitochondrial pathways lead to an epigenetic landscape of yeast replicative aging with multiple equilibrium states that represent different types of terminal states of aging. The structure of the landscape drives single-cell differentiation toward one of these states during aging, whereby the fate is determined quite early and is insensitive to intracellular noise. Guided by a quantitative model of the aging landscape, we genetically engineered a long-lived equilibrium state characterized by an extended life span.

Cellular aging plays an important role in many diseases, such as cancers, metabolic syndromes, and neurodegenerative disorders. There has been steady progress in identifying aging-related factors such as reactive oxygen species and genomic instability, yet an emerging challenge is to reconcile the contributions of these factors with the fact that genetically identical cells can age at significantly different rates. Such complexity requires single-cell analyses designed to unravel the interplay of aging dynamics and cell-to-cell variability. Here we use microfluidic technologies to track the replicative aging of single yeast cells and reveal that the temporal patterns of heterochromatin silencing loss regulate cellular life span. We found that cells show sporadic waves of silencing loss in the heterochromatic ribosomal DNA during the early phases of aging, followed by sustained loss of silencing preceding cell death. Isogenic cells have different lengths of the early intermittent silencing phase that largely determine their final life spans. Combining computational modeling and experimental approaches, we found that the intermittent silencing dynamics is important for longevity and is dependent on the conserved Sir2 deacetylase, whereas either sustained silencing or sustained loss of silencing shortens life span. These findings reveal that the temporal patterns of a key molecular process can directly influence cellular aging, and thus could provide guidance for the design of temporally controlled strategies to extend life span.replicative aging | single-cell analysis | microfluidics | chromatin silencing | computational modeling C ellular aging is generally driven by the accumulation of genetic and cellular damage (1, 2). Although much progress has been made in identifying molecular factors that influence life span, what remains sorely missing is an understanding of how these factors interact and change dynamically during the aging process. This is in part because aging is a complex process wherein isogenic cells have various intrinsic causes of aging and widely different rates of aging. As a result, static population-based approaches could be insufficient to fully reveal sophisticated dynamic changes during aging. Recent developments in single-cell analyses to unravel the interplay of cellular dynamics and variability hold the promise to answer that challenge (3-5). Here we chose the replicative aging of yeast S. cerevisiae as a model and exploited quantitative biology technologies to study the dynamics of molecular processes that control aging at the single-cell level.

Highlights d Single-cell phenotypic analysis reveals detailed replicative aging dynamics d Isogenic cells differentiate early in life toward two distinct aging paths d A stochastic state-transition model captures the landscape of aging dynamics d Genetic and environmental factors modulate aging trajectories and kinetics

Aging is a complex, yet pervasive phenomenon in biology. As human cells steadily succumb to the deteriorating effects of aging, so too comes a host of age-related ailments such as neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Therefore, elucidation of the molecular networks that drive aging is of paramount importance to human health. Progress toward this goal has been aided by studies from simple model organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae . While work in budding yeast has already revealed much about the basic biology of aging as well as a number of evolutionarily conserved pathways involved in this process, recent technological advances are poised to greatly expand our knowledge of aging in this simple eukaryote. Here, we review the latest developments in microfluidics, single-cell analysis and high-throughput technologies for studying single-cell replicative aging in S. cerevisiae . We detail the challenges each of these methods addresses as well as the unique insights into aging that each has provided. We conclude with a discussion of potential future applications of these techniques as well as the importance of single-cell dynamics and quantitative biology approaches for understanding cell aging.

The yeast metabolic cycle (YMC) is a fascinating example of biological organization, in which cells constrain the function of specific genetic, protein and metabolic networks to precise temporal windows as they grow and divide. However, understanding the intracellular origins of the YMC remains a challenging goal, as measuring the oxygen oscillations traditionally associated with it requires the use of synchronized cultures growing in nutrient-limited chemostat environments. To address these limitations, we used custom-built microfluidic devices and time-lapse fluorescence microscopy to search for metabolic cycling in the form of endogenous flavin fluorescence in unsynchronized single yeast cells. We uncovered robust and pervasive metabolic cycles that were synchronized with the cell division cycle (CDC) and oscillated across four different nutrient conditions. We then studied the response of these metabolic cycles to chemical and genetic perturbations, showing that their phase synchronization with the CDC can be altered through treatment with rapamycin, and that metabolic cycles continue even in respiratory deficient strains. These results provide a foundation for future studies of the physiological importance of metabolic cycles in processes such as CDC control, metabolic regulation and cell aging.

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Chromatin instability and protein homeostasis (proteostasis) stress are two well-established hallmarks of aging, which have been considered largely independent of each other. Using microfluidics and single-cell imaging approaches, we observed that, during the replicative aging of S. cerevisiae, a challenge to proteostasis occurs specifically in the fraction of cells with decreased stability within the ribosomal DNA (rDNA). A screen of 170 yeast RNA-binding proteins identified ribosomal RNA (rRNA)-binding proteins as the most enriched group that aggregate upon a decrease in rDNA stability induced by inhibition of a conserved lysine deacetylase Sir2. Further, loss of rDNA stability induces age-dependent aggregation of rRNA-binding proteins through aberrant overproduction of rRNAs. These aggregates contribute to age-induced proteostasis decline and limit cellular lifespan. Our findings reveal a mechanism underlying the interconnection between chromatin instability and proteostasis stress and highlight the importance of cell-to-cell variability in aging processes.

Significance:Aging is an inevitable consequence of living, and with it comes increased morbidity and mortality. Novel approaches to mitigating age-related chronic diseases demand a better understanding of the biology of aging. Studies in model organisms have identified many peer-reviewed) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not . http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/102210 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online Jan. 22, 2017; 3 conserved molecular factors that influence aging. The emerging challenge is to understand how these factors interact and change dynamically to drive aging. Using multidisciplinary technologies, we have revealed a sirtuin-dependent intermittent pattern of chromatin silencing during yeast aging that is crucial for longevity. Our findings highlight the important role of silencing dynamics in aging, which deserves careful consideration when designing schemes to delay or reverse aging by modulating sirtuins and silencing. Main Text: /bodyCellular aging is generally driven by the accumulation of genetic and cellular damage (1, 2). Although much progress has been made in identifying molecular factors that influence lifespan, what remains sorely missing is an understanding of how these factors interact and change dynamically during the aging process. This is in part due to the fact that aging is a complex process wherein isogenic cells have various intrinsic causes of aging and widely different rates of aging. As a result, static population-based approaches could be insufficient to fully reveal sophisticated dynamic changes during aging. Recent developments in single-cell analyses to unravel the interplay of cellular dynamics and variability hold the promise to answer that challenge (3-5). Here we chose the replicative aging of yeast S.cerevisiae as a model and exploited novel quantitative biology technologies to study the dynamics of molecular processes that control aging at the single-cell level. ResultsReplicative aging of yeast is measured as the number of daughter cells produced before the death of a mother cell (6). The conventional method for studying yeast aging requires laborious manual separation of daughter cells from mother cells after each division and does not peer-reviewed) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not . http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/102210 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online Jan. 22, 2017; 4 allow tracking of molecular processes over multiple generations during aging (7). Recent advances in microfluidics technology have automated cell separation and enabled continuous single-cell measurements during aging (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). Building upon these efforts, we developed a new microfluidic aging device. The device traps mother cells at the bottom of finger-shaped chambers, allowing them to bud continuously, while daughter cells are removed via a waste port.Each chamber also has a smal...