Clues to longevity may reside in the genomes of long-lived bats
The secret to a long life may lie in the genomes of the longest-lived mammals for their size: bats. That idea captivated Juan Manuel Vazquez when he was a graduate student at the University of Chicago, but at the time he couldn't find any good published information on bat genomes to provide clues. Once he became a UC Berkeley postdoctoral fellow in 2020, however, he unleashed his passion and…
The secret to a long life may be encoded within the genomes of bats, the longest-lived mammals relative to their size. This idea intrigued Juan Manuel Vazquez during his graduate studies at the University of Chicago, but he struggled to find relevant published information on bat genomes at the time. As a UC Berkeley postdoctoral fellow in 2020, Vazquez embarked on a quest to discover clues to longevity by scouring the Western U.S. for bat species.
Enlisting the help of Berkeley undergraduates, he captured and biopsied bats using mist nets over water bodies at night. Focusing on the genus Myotis, which includes the species with the longest lifespan, Vazquez collected tissue samples and DNA from 259 individuals representing 32 species. In a new paper published in Nature, Vazquez and his colleagues analyzed the genomes of eight Myotis species and discovered a significant link between the bats' longevity and their immune systems.
Longer-lived bats exhibited higher levels of cancer-fighting genes, suggesting that an immune system capable of combating infections and cancer may be crucial to a long lifespan. This finding implies that understanding the mechanisms behind longevity in bats could provide insights into human aging and disease.
Written by urgent.news from Medical Xpress's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
