Summary

This review article details the historical progression of telomere and telomerase research, tracing key discoveries from model organisms like maize, *Tetrahymena*, and yeast to their implications for human cancer and aging. It establishes telomeres as protective caps at chromosome ends and telomerase as the enzyme responsible for their maintenance, acting as a crucial component in cellular immortality and senescence.

The review highlights how understanding telomere dynamics in simple eukaryotes laid the groundwork for investigating their role in complex human diseases. Readers gain insight into the molecular mechanisms governing telomere length regulation and how its dysregulation contributes to uncontrolled cell proliferation in cancer and cellular aging.

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Key concepts

Telomeres — Repetitive DNA sequences at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes that protect them from degradation and fusion.
Telomerase — A ribonucleoprotein reverse transcriptase that synthesizes telomeric DNA, counteracting telomere shortening.
Hayflick limit — The finite number of times a normal human cell population will divide before it enters replicative senescence.
Replicative senescence — A state of irreversible cell cycle arrest that occurs after a cell has undergone a certain number of divisions.