Figure 3

The SITS mediated gain (combined decrease in mutation rate and increase in longevity) is maximal at intermediate levels of DNA damage. The time average of the mutation rate, $〈\frac{\mathit{\text{dM}}}{\mathit{\text{dt}}}〉$ (A) and longevity, L (B) are shown as function of DNA damage, 〈D〉. Each point represents an average of 100 simulation runs. To scan across increasing average DNA damage, 〈D〉, we altered the mean of the gaussian distribution, μ _D . The red(orange) lines and corresponding errorbars represent SITS (TS). Cell-to-cell variation in DNA damage, $\frac{{\sigma }_D}{〈D〉}=1.5$.