KRISTAN, D.M.*; AUSTAD, S. N.; California State University, San Marcos; University of Idaho: Whole animal longevity and cellular resistance to oxidative stress in primary kidney fibroblasts of birds and rodents

Oxidative damage to DNA occurs during normal metabolism and the effects of this damage accumulate with age, making oxidative stress one of the foremost proximate theories of aging. Most research on the mechanistic basis of aging uses relatively short lived animals, such as laboratory rodents or invertebrates. We examined cellular resistance to oxidative stress in long-lived and short-lived birds and rodents. In this preliminary study we found that resistance to oxidative stress varied between and within rodents and birds, varied with type of oxidative stressor (hydrogen peroxide, paraquat, 95% oxygen), and was positively correlated with whole animal longevity only for some types of oxidative stressors and only for some species. As we begin to understand differences in cellular production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), defenses against ROS, and repair of ROS damage among short- and long-lived species we will be able to revise current hypotheses of interspecific differences in longevity.