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Jonathan the 194-year-old giant tortoise is helping researchers study extreme longevity

A Science Advances study says researchers sequenced the genome and methylome of Jonathan, an Aldabra giant tortoise that Science Advances described as the oldest known living land animal, to look for genetic and epigenetic clues to his lifespan.

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Dorsal scute of an Aldabra giant tortoise shell. Recent longevity studies have used comparative genomic analysis to reveal gene markers with the potential to slow aging and inhibit cancer in long-lived species. Vaisvil et al. report the first genome sequence of the 194-year-old Aldabra giant tortoise Jonathan, the oldest known living land animal. DNA methylome analysis showed that comparatively lower-entropy regions in Jonathan’s methylome were linked to higher-fidelity gene transcription and more efficient DNA repair, energy production, and RNA processing. These findings support a model for aging where efficient energy production supports robust DNA repair, thus preserving genomic integrity and potentially contributing to improved longevity.

Credit: Stephen Clark

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Researchers reported in Science Advances that they sequenced the genome and methylome of Jonathan, a 194-year-old Aldabra giant tortoise. Live Science reported that his DNA samples revealed gene variants and epigenetic changes that could contribute to his lifespan, but that remains a reported clue rather than proof of a broader longevity mechanism.

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Jonathan the 194-year-old giant tortoise is helping researchers study extreme longevity

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