La tortuga ‘Jonathan’ tiene 194 años y en sus genes se esconden los secretos de la longevidad
El animal terrestre de mayor edad tiene una combinación de variantes genéticas que le permiten envejecer con mucha más eficacia
Jonathan, a 194-year-old giant tortoise, is the most famous inhabitant of the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic. Despite his blindness and the normal challenges of old age, he enjoys good health. While not ostentatious, he could arguably be considered the longest-lived terrestrial animal known. When he emerged from his shell around 1832, the light bulb and electrical telegraph had not yet been invented.
Moreover, as Jonathan took his first steps on the grass, Fernando VII ruled Spain and medical practices in the world seemed more like butchers' shops—modern anesthesia would not arrive until the 1840s. Thus, a group of scientists decided to investigate the unique characteristics of this Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea), a species already known for its longevity—typically living around 80 years on average.
The results, published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, suggest a combination of genetic variants and chemical marks in the DNA that may partly explain how this near-200-year-old reptile fights aging so remarkably.
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