The Genetics of Reproductive Longevity

Nature news has this interesting piece on two studies on the age of onset of menopause.  Some (rare) genes are implicated in premature menopause.  A sample:

One factor that could trigger that early menopause is the accumulation of DNA mutations in a person’s eggs. Such mutations can trigger the repair of the eggs’ DNA — or they can cause the eggs to self-destruct. The eggs’ response to DNA damage is key in determining egg number, says Murray. “And it’s egg number that determines your reproductive lifespan.”

Mutations can also increase cancer risk, and variants in four of the genes that the team uncovered were linked not only to early menopause but also to a higher risk of cancer.

...The team found that women who carried common DNA variants that previous research had associated with earlier age at menopause were more likely to pass mutations that had arisen in their eggs to their offspring.

The two studies mentioned in the news piece are here and here.

Cheers, 

Colin