Lysosomal alteration links food limitation to longevity

Lysosomes are small vesicles in which cellular constituents are enzymatically degraded. Villalobos and colleagues now show that in Caenorhabditis elegans a shift in lysosome morphology from a vesicular to a tubular shape is critical for the lifespan extension triggered by calorie restriction. Moreover, tubular lysosomes form even in well-fed descendants of calorically restricted parents for up to four generations.