Fig. 6

Sir3 dependent telomere clustering contributes to sustain long chronological lifespan. a Rap1-GFP representative images of sir3∆::SIR3 “yAT2332”, sir3∆ “yAT2338” and sir3∆ ::sir3-A2Q “yAT2333” grown 3 days in YPD and starved overnight in water. DS diauxic shift. b Western blot against Sir3 and H2A on crude extracts from SP cultures of sir3∆::SIR3 “yAT2332”, sir3∆ “yAT2338” and sir3∆::sir3-A2Q “yAT2333”. c CFU assay on sir3∆::SIR3 “yAT2332”, sir3∆ “yAT2338” and sir3∆::sir3-A2Q “yAT2333”. Cells were grown in 3 days in YPD, transferred in water and plated at day 1 (a), day 10, day 15, and day 22. The ratios day 4/day 1, day 10/day 1, day 15/day 1, and day 22/day 1 are shown. d Summary scheme of long-lived quiescent cells showing a programmed reorganization of silent chromatin triggered by mitochondrial activity. Telomeres are organized in three to four foci localized at the nuclear periphery during fermentation. After the diauxic shift, ROS coming from the mitochondria commit cell nuclei to form telomere hyperclusters during starvation and to sustain long CLS. On the other hand, mother cells that are not committed to telomere hyperclustering will rapidly lose viability during starvation