Calorie restriction changes overall mutation levels in mouse body cells

Caloric restriction (CR) reduces genome-wide somatic mutation burdens by varying degrees across different tissues in mice.

• Somatic mutations accumulate in cells throughout life, contributing to aging and genomic instability.
• CR leads to a decrease in both substitution and insertion/deletion mutation burdens.
• The effects of CR on mutation reduction vary depending on the tissue type examined.
• CR significantly decreases the activity of the single-base substitution mutational process SBS5, which is responsible for most mutations in mammals.
• The most substantial reduction in mutation burden from CR occurs in transcriptionally inactive regions of the genome.

Simplified