Abstract 3045 Cell fate determination through age-selective organelle segregation

Heterogeneity within subcellular component classes, such as organelles, has emerged as a potent regulator of cellular functions and differentiation. We found that the chronological age of organelles provides a proxy for identifying functional sub-classes of organelles. Moreover, cells can asymmetrically apportion such functionally distinct organelle age-classes in cell divisions, and thereby divert the functions of the two daughter cells. In stem cell divisions, the age-selective segregation of mitochondria and peroxisomes drives a metabolic divergence that guides one daughter cell to remain a self-renewing stem cell whereas the other daughter cell differentiates.