Science Advances· 2026Q1
Epigenetic insights into extreme longevity in the world’s oldest terrestrial animal, Jonathan
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- 2026year
Short summary
Jonathan, a 194-year-old Aldabra giant tortoise, exhibits unique gene variants and distinct DNA methylation patterns, with lower methylation entropy enriched in promoters of genes critical for mitochondrial function and RNA metabolism, suggesting these factors are key to his extreme longevity.
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Key points
- Jonathan, a 194-year-old Aldabra giant tortoise, possesses unique gene variants in aging pathways compared to other giant tortoises.
- Jonathan's DNA methylation patterns show substantial changes and lower entropy relative to younger Aldabra tortoises.
- Low-entropy regions in Jonathan's methylome are enriched at the promoters of genes involved in mitochondrial electron transport chain and RNA metabolism.
- The findings support a model where low methylation entropy, efficient mitochondrial energy production, RNA processing, and genomic repair are coupled for extreme longevity.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Aldabra giant tortoises ( Aldabrachelys gigantea ) are exceptionally long-lived. We sequenced the genome and methylome of Jonathan, a 194-year-old Aldabra, to explore the molecular basis of his longevity. Relative to other giant tortoises ( A. gigantea and Chelonoidis abingdonii ), Jonathan has unique gene variants in most aging pathways. Moreover, Jonathan has substantial DNA methylation and methylation entropy changes compared to four other Aldabras ranging in age from a 5-year-old juvenile to older adults. Notably, we found that lower-entropy regions in Jonathan’s methylome were enriched for the promoters of genes involved in the mitochondrial electron transport chain, and RNA metabolism. This suggests that high-fidelity transcription of the genes in these pathways may be crucial for long-lived species. Our findings support a model for aging wherein the maintenance of low methylation entropy in gene promoters is coupled to efficient mitochondrial energy production, efficient RNA processing, and efficient genomic repair.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Science Advances, 2026 · DOI ↗
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AgingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology