According to a new study published in the journal "Nature", animals with a slower rate of genetic mutations (such as humans) would have a longer life
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himGiraffes, dogs, humans, rabbits: we are all mammals, belonging to the same family, yet we have very different life expectations. For example, a human being lives to eighty on average, a dog to fifteen and a giraffe to twenty-four. Why does this happen? What is the "secret of longevity" of some mammal species that others don't know?
Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute (United Kingdom) have tried to answer this question by analyzing the genetic makeup of 16 mammal species very different from each other in terms of size and lifespan. It was found that, in the DNA of long-lived animals, genetic mutations occur slowly - this supports the theory that somatic mutations play a role in aging processes.
(Read also: Longevity: Scientists identify genes that shorten our lives for the first time)
Genetic mutations and aging
Genetic changes occur in all cells of an organism during its life: it is a natural process, which in humans occurs 20 to 50 times a year. Most of these mutations do not cause damage to the body, but some of them can compromise the normal functioning of the cell and initiate the formation of tumor masses.
Since the 50s, scientists have hypothesized a correlation between genetic mutations and aging processes. Unfortunately, however, the investigation techniques of the past did not allow in-depth studies in this direction. The development of medical technologies in recent years has also made it possible to investigate the genetic changes that occur in tissues, providing new information to scientists.
The authors of this study analyzed the tissues of 16 different mammal species - from humans to mice, from giraffe to naked mole, from lion to tiger. The analysis showed that genetic mutations accumulate linearly over time and that they are caused by similar mechanisms in all species (including ours), despite the enormous differences in lifestyle and nutrition.
Most surprising, however, was to find that the average lifespan of a species is inversely proportional to the somatic mutation rate: in practice, the frequency of mutations at the genetic level decreases as the life expectancy of the species increases. This is unequivocal proof of the role played by genetic mutations in the aging process.
Obviously, further studies in this direction will be necessary to investigate the correlation between aging and somatic mutations also in other families of animals, such as reptiles or marine animals, as well as in plant species. However, this is an important first step in understanding the aging processes involving different animal species.
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Source: Nature
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