The retrograde response was discovered in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a signaling
pathway from the mitochondrion to the nucleus that triggers an array of gene regulatory
changes in the latter. The activation of the retrograde response compensates for the deficits
associated with aging, and thus it extends yeast replicative life span. The retrograde
response is activated by the progressive decline in mitochondrial membrane potential
during aging that is the result of increasing mitochondrial dysfunction. The ensuing …