194-Year-Old Giant Tortoise Shares Genetic Secrets To Long Life

Scientists studied Jonathan, a 194-year-old giant tortoise believed to be the world's oldest living land animal, and found genetic clues that could help understand how some living things defy the process of ageing. The findings of the new study were published in Science Advances.

Jonathan was born in the Seychelles in 1832 and has lived in the gardens of Plantation House, which is the governor's official residence on the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena. It arrived there in 1882.

Recently, an international research team analysed Jonathan's DNA to understand his long life. The findings show that Jonathan possesses specific genetic traits across several biological pathways related to ageing. These genes help repair damaged DNA, regulate metabolism, and protect against cellular breakdown.

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According to Scientific American, Jonathan's veterinarian Joe Hollins took cells from inside his cheek to get his DNA material while pretending to feed him. A blood draw for DNA sequencing was not permitted because of concerns for Jonathan's health and his iconic status on St Helena.

"It was quite tricky and dangerous," study co-author Stephen Clark, a researcher at the Kallel Foundation, a longevity nonprofit in Nashville, said as quoted by the outlet.

However, the team found the most striking detail in chemical tags attached to his DNA, known as methyl groups. While Jonathan shared expected ageing patterns with other old tortoises, the chemical tags controlling his mitochondria closely matched those of much younger animals.

Mitochondria function as tiny powerhouses inside biological cells. As living things age, failing mitochondria are linked to cellular decline and disease.

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"Jonathan gives us a real window onto what happens over a long period of time," said Stephen Clark, a researcher on the project at the Kallel Foundation. "His mitochondria must be especially stable, and that offers insight into longevity in general."

Researchers noted that further study is needed to prove whether keeping mitochondria in a youthful state can actively slow ageing.

"We can't really put a flagpole in something and say, 'Oh, this is why he lived this long,'" he says. "This work is just the first step."