Telomere Science Library

Publications, Presentations, and Videos
about the Nobel-Prize Winning Science of Telomere Biology

A two-step model for senescence triggered by a single critically short telomere

Pauline Abdallah, Pierre Luciano, Kurt W. Runge, Michael Lisby, Vincent Géli, Eric Gilson and M. Teresa Teixeira


Telomeres protect chromosome ends from fusion and degradation. In the absence of a specific telomere elongation mechanism, their DNA shortens progressively with every round of replication, leading to replicative senescence. Here, we show that telomerase-deficient cells bearing a single, very short telomere senesce earlier, demonstrating that the length of the shortest telomere is a major determinant of the onset of senescence.

Read More