"Genes of longevity" by Brandt's nocturnal
Scientists: the genome of the "aksakal" bat will help to find longevity genes
It is believed that the life expectancy of mammals is interrelated with their typical body weight. So, small rodents live relatively short, while whales, elephants and large cats live for tens or even hundreds of years. Sometimes this pattern is violated, as exemplified by the 30-gram Cape diggers, who live for about 30 years, and Brandt's moths, whose mass does not exceed 8 grams.
A group of geneticists led by Vadim Gladyshev from Harvard University (USA) has been trying to uncover the secrets of such unusual animals for a long time. So, in 2011, they deciphered the genome of the Cape digger, and two years later discovered the mechanisms responsible for their "invulnerability" to cancer and longevity.
In their new work, Gladyshev and his colleagues, including several scientists from Russia, decoded the genome of Brandt's moths (Myotis brandtii). Their genome turned out to be relatively small compared to other bats – it contains 1.9 billion nucleotides, "letters" of DNA, and about 21 thousand genes.
According to scientists, a preliminary analysis of the genome allowed them to discover two interesting features. Firstly, about half of the genes of Myotis brandtii are similar to similar sites in the DNA of horses, which confirms the close relationship of bats and ungulates, as evidenced by the decoding of the genomes of other bats.
Secondly, Brandt's moths have a unique system of growth hormones, unlike a similar part of the genome in all other animals. Gladyshev and his colleagues believe that these differences may explain why these mammals live much longer than their relatives and other animals with a similar mass.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru21.08.2013