Deep-sea rockfish that live to be 200 hint at genes for longevity

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Longevity probe often focuses connected short-lived laboratory animals similar mice – but a survey of long-lived rockfish mightiness connection caller familial clues for extending lifespans

Life 11 November 2021

By Aimee Gabay

Rockfish are among the longest-living animals known to exist, and by studying the earthy saltation successful their lifespans, researchers person discovered cardinal insights into the familial ground of longevity.

Studies into ageing person traditionally focused connected laboratory mice due to the fact that they are casual to enactment with. However, Peter Sudmant astatine the University of California, Berkeley, and his colleagues adopted a antithetic approach, studying longevity successful creatures with longer lifespans.

The researchers performed a genomic investigation of 88 taxon of Pacific Ocean rockfish (genus Sebastes) – deep-sea creatures that unrecorded betwixt 11 and 200 years – to representation retired the familial underpinnings of their lifespans. They accounted for factors specified arsenic assemblage size and their environment, which are variables that are known to impact ageing successful galore organisms.

“We recovered genes associated with galore antithetic pathways — genes progressive successful DNA repair, metabolism and immune response,” says Sudmant. It is imaginable that a acceptable of genes called butyrophillins, which are known to power galore quality diseases of inflammation, lend to the utmost lifespan of long-lived rockfishes.

“We recovered that these genes, which we deliberation play an immunosuppressive role, person higher ‘copy number’ [meaning immoderate person been duplicated] successful ultra-long-lived species,” says Sudmant. “This highlights a circumstantial acceptable of genes and pathways that mightiness beryllium important to travel up successful humans.”

An probe into the lives of these long-lived animals is captious to learning however to heighten and prolong quality health, says Steven Austard astatine the University of Alabama astatine Birmingham. “I don’t judge we volition marque overmuch headway successful extending quality wellness if we lone survey short-lived organisms similar effect flies and mice.”

Journal reference: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.abg5332