Jonathan, an Aldabra giant tortoise hatched around 1832 and living on Saint Helena since the 1880s, has had his genome sequenced for the first time, revealing genetic features linked to extreme longevity. Researchers compared his DNA and methylation patterns with those of several younger tortoises and found unique gene variants across canonical aging pathways - DNA repair, telomere maintenance, insulin signaling, mitochondrial function and autophagy. Most strikingly, Jonathan’s mitochondrial methylome showed unusually low entropy, meaning mitochondrial-related methylation patterns remained unusually "pristine" and resembled those of a five-year-old tortoise despite nearly two centuries of life, while other parts of his genome displayed age-consistent changes.
The team obtained cheek swabs after blood draws were judged too risky, overcame delays from incomplete samples, COVID and regulatory hurdles, and shipped material from Saint Helena to Florida via the U.S. Space Force. Many of Jonathan’s variants align with signatures seen in other long-lived individuals and populations, placing mitochondrial maintenance among promising targets for follow-up. Researchers frame these results as a starting point to disentangle the complex genetic architecture of longevity and to explore interventions aimed at extending healthspan, while Jonathan continues to roam Plantation House as a living testament to those findings.
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