Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms associated with longevity in the Turkish population.

The accumulation of mutations in mitochondrial DNA is a widely recognized mechanism for aging and age related diseases. However, studies indicate that some mutations could be beneficial to longevity by slowing down the function of the electron transport chain, reducing free radical production. In this study, we re-sequenced the entire mitochondrial DNA from 50 individuals and examined aging-related variations in the Turkish population. We evaluated sequence data by comparing whole SNP frequencies, individual SNP frequencies, the effect of SNPs, SNP accumulation in certain mtDNA regions and haplotype profiles between elderly and control groups. The frequency of total mitochondrial SNPs was significantly higher in nonagenarians than controls (p=0.0094). Furthermore, non-coding, synonymous and tRNA mutations were more prevalent in the 90+ group compared to controls (p=0.0001, p<0.001, p=0.0096, respectively). A73G and C152T polymorphisms were significantly associated with longevity in the Turkish population (p=0.0086 and p=0.004, respectively). Additionally, C150T was specific to the 90+ group, but the difference failed to reach statistical significance (p=0.053). We also detected a novel transversion in the ATPase6 gene (C8899A) that was negatively associated with longevity (p=0.0016). Examining the distribution of SNPs among genes and functionally associated gene regions revealed a significant accumulation of mutations in the D-loop region and genes encoding Complex I subunits (ND1-6) (p<0.0001, p=0.0302, respectively). Moreover, there was an increase in the non-synonymous mutation frequency of Complex I genes in aged subjects (p<0.0001). Haplotype H was also significantly increased in the control group (p=0.0405). Overall, our findings support a role for mitochondrial genome variations and the functionality of oxidative phosphorylation in longevity. In this report, we sequenced the whole mtDNA of the Turkish population for the first time.