Strength in diversity: Intra-cellular metabolite sharing enhances longevity

Abstract

Much of our foundational knowledge of cellular biology comes from studies in budding yeast, often described as a simple unicellular eukaryotic model. In this issue of Cell, Correia-Melo et al. describe an unappreciated feature of yeast biology involving intra-cellular metabolite exchange, where cells adapt and respond as part of a community, and go on to show that sharing of resources linked to methionine metabolism enhances longevity of cooperating cells.