Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute, 417 Main Street, Gloucester, MA, 01930, USA.
Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL, 33149, United States.
Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 8;10(1):9182. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-66052-3.
The red sea urchin, Mesocentrotus franciscanus, is one the earth's longest-lived animals, reported to live more than 100 years with indeterminate growth, life-long reproduction and no increase in mortality rate with age. To gain insight into mechanisms associated with longevity and negligible senescence, age-related transcriptional profiles were examined in tissues of the red sea urchin. Genome-wide transcriptional profiling using RNA-Seq revealed few age-related changes in gene expression in muscle and esophagus tissue. In contrast, radial nerve showed an unexpected level of complexity with the expression of 3,370 genes significantly altered more than two-fold with age, including genes involved in nerve function, signaling, metabolism, transcriptional regulation and chromatin modification. There was an age-related upregulation in expression of genes involved in synaptogenesis, axonogenesis and neuroprotection suggesting preservation of neuronal processes with age. There was also an upregulation in expression of positive regulators and key components of the AMPK pathway, autophagy, proteasome function, and the unfolded protein response. This unique age-related gene expression profile in the red sea urchin nervous system may play a role in mitigating the detrimental effects of aging in this long-lived animal.
红色海胆，Mesocentrotus franciscanus，是地球上寿命最长的动物之一，据报道寿命超过 100 年，具有不定生长、终生繁殖和死亡率随年龄增长而不增加的特点。为了深入了解与长寿和极轻微衰老相关的机制，我们研究了红色海胆组织中与年龄相关的转录谱。使用 RNA-Seq 的全基因组转录谱分析表明，肌肉和食管组织中的基因表达与年龄相关的变化很少。相比之下，放射状神经表现出出人意料的复杂性，有 3370 个基因的表达随年龄变化超过两倍，包括涉及神经功能、信号转导、代谢、转录调节和染色质修饰的基因。与突触发生、轴突发生和神经保护相关的基因表达上调，表明神经元过程随年龄的增长而得到保护。此外，AMPK 途径、自噬、蛋白酶体功能和未折叠蛋白反应的正向调节剂和关键组成部分的表达也上调。这种红色海胆神经系统中独特的与年龄相关的基因表达谱可能在减轻这种长寿动物衰老的不利影响方面发挥作用。
