Sporulation, Meiosis, and Rejuvenation

Spores are extraordinary resistant life forms. They can exist in contaminated environments for centuries. To assume the spore’s longevityLongevity potential, it is enough to mention that the longest-existing bacterial spores reach 250 million years. A rejuvenated spore can miraculously return to active life within few minutes of germination. Spores can survive in space journeys, and they are among the potential pioneers who habituated Earth and other planets. At the same time, spores are the simplest and archaistic mode of meiotic rejuvenationMeiotic rejuvenation. Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) and yeast species (e.g., Schizosaccharomyces pombe) often serve as model systems for exploring the spores and sporulationSporulation. Remarkably, new progenies are equally rejuvenated despite the differences in parental ages and duration of dormancy. Species from all three domains (Eubacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya) clearly demonstrate that meiotic rejuvenationMeiotic rejuvenation is an efficient and ubiquitous event in nature, which contributes a lot to the very continuity of life.