Seim Inge, Ma Siming, Zhou Xuming, Gerashchenko Maxim V, Lee Sang-Goo, Suydam Robert, George John C, Bickham John W, Gladyshev Vadim N
Division of Genetics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Department of Wildlife Management, North Slope Borough, Barrow, AK 99723, USA.
Aging (Albany NY). 2014 Oct;6(10):879-99. doi: 10.18632/aging.100699.
Mammals vary dramatically in lifespan, by at least two-orders of magnitude, but the molecular basis for this difference remains largely unknown. The bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus is the longest-lived mammal known, with an estimated maximal lifespan in excess of two hundred years. It is also one of the two largest animals and the most cold-adapted baleen whale species. Here, we report the first genome-wide gene expression analyses of the bowhead whale, based on the de novo assembly of its transcriptome. Bowhead whale or cetacean-specific changes in gene expression were identified in the liver, kidney and heart, and complemented with analyses of positively selected genes. Changes associated with altered insulin signaling and other gene expression patterns could help explain the remarkable longevity of bowhead whales as well as their adaptation to a lipid-rich diet. The data also reveal parallels in candidate longevity adaptations of the bowhead whale, naked mole rat and Brandt's bat. The bowhead whale transcriptome is a valuable resource for the study of this remarkable animal, including the evolution of longevity and its important correlates such as resistance to cancer and other diseases.
哺乳动物的寿命差异极大，至少相差两个数量级，但这种差异的分子基础在很大程度上仍不为人知。弓头鲸（Balaena mysticetus）是已知寿命最长的哺乳动物，估计最大寿命超过两百年。它也是体型最大的两种动物之一，并且是最适应寒冷环境的须鲸物种。在此，我们基于弓头鲸转录组的从头组装，报告了对其进行的首次全基因组基因表达分析。在肝脏、肾脏和心脏中鉴定出了弓头鲸或鲸类特有的基因表达变化，并通过对正选择基因的分析进行了补充。与胰岛素信号改变和其他基因表达模式相关的变化，可能有助于解释弓头鲸显著的长寿以及它们对富含脂质饮食的适应。这些数据还揭示了弓头鲸、裸鼹鼠和布氏鼠耳蝠在候选长寿适应性方面的相似之处。弓头鲸转录组是研究这种非凡动物的宝贵资源，包括长寿的进化及其重要关联因素，如对癌症和其他疾病的抵抗力。
