DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AGING AND SENESCENCE
Aging is simply becoming older of an organism. In plants, senescence refers to the process of both stress-induced and age-related developmental aging.
Aging and senescence both are intrinsic biological process which leads to the deterioration of physiological functions necessary for the survival of an organism and eventually to cell death.
Aging leads to the progressive loss of physiological integrity, while senescence leads to the irreversible, long-term cell cycle arrest.
What is aging?
- Aging refers to progressive physiological changes of living beings that lead to decline of biological functions and organism’s ability to adapt to metabolic stress. It takes place in a cell, an organ, or in an organism with the passage of time.
- Aging results in gradual deterioration of physiological functions necessary for the survival of an organism. The major factors that results in aging are environmental factors and time. However, genetic factors also have a role in aging.
- Ultimately, aging leads to cell death.
- Common examples of aging in older age seen as wrinkled skin, worsening eyesight, hearing loss, indigestion etc.
- The study of aging process is known as Gerontology. Gerontology includes three aspects named longevity, aging, and death.
- Longevity is the span of life of an organism.
What is Senescence?
- Senescence is known as biological aging.
- Organism senescence is the aging of whole organisms that involves an increase in death rates and/or a decrease in fecundity with increasing age, at least in the latter part of an organism’s life cycle.
- Senescence is irreversible form of long-term cell-cycle arrest, caused by excessive intracellular or extracellular stress or damage. Senescence limits the proliferation of damaged cells by arresting the cell cycle.
- The number of senescent cells increases with age, but senescence also plays an important role during development as well as during wound healing.
- Plant senescence is the process of aging in plants. Plants have both stress-induced and age-related developmental aging. Leaf senescence has the important function of recycling nutrients, mostly nitrogen, to growing and storage organs of the plant.
See also…
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHOOT AND STEM
PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS- CLASSIFICATION & FUNCTIONS
EPIGEAL AND HPOGEAL GERMINATION
Photosynthesis- Process & Reaction