What this means
Researchers compared the genes and DNA marks of one very old tortoise with other tortoises. They suggest certain gene patterns may matter for long life. This study does not show that these patterns cause long life.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the abstract. The original is below.
- Who it was tested in
- 1 tortoise (Jonathan) and 4 other Aldabra tortoises
- Kind of research
- Research in animals or cells
The science
- Original title
- Epigenetic insights into extreme longevity in the world's oldest terrestrial animal, Jonathan.
- Authors
- Vaisvil B, Schmitt DP, Jones A et al.
- Journal
- Science advances
- Published
- Oct 7, 2026
- Study type
- Lab or animal study · indexed as animal research
- PMID
- 42842650 ↗
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.
Vaisvil B, Schmitt DP, Jones A et al. Epigenetic insights into extreme longevity in the world's oldest terrestrial animal, Jonathan. Science advances. 2026. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adw8887. PMID: 42842650. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42842650/