Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute, Gloucester, MA 01930, USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
Cell Rep. 2024 Apr 23;43(4):114021. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114021. Epub 2024 Apr 1.
The red sea urchin (Mesocentrotus franciscanus) is one of the Earth's longest-living animals, reported to live more than 100 years with indeterminate growth, life-long reproduction, and no increase in mortality rate with age. To understand the genetic underpinnings of longevity and negligible aging, we constructed a chromosome-level assembly of the red sea urchin genome and compared it to that of short-lived sea urchin species. Genome-wide syntenic alignments identified chromosome rearrangements that distinguish short- and long-lived species. Expanded gene families in long-lived species play a role in innate immunity, sensory nervous system, and genome stability. An integrated network of genes under positive selection in the red sea urchin was involved in genomic regulation, mRNA fidelity, protein homeostasis, and mitochondrial function. Our results implicated known longevity genes in sea urchin longevity but also revealed distinct molecular signatures that may promote long-term maintenance of tissue homeostasis, disease resistance, and negligible aging.
红色海胆（Mesocentrotus franciscanus）是地球上寿命最长的动物之一，据报道其寿命超过 100 年，具有不定向生长、终生繁殖和无死亡率随年龄增长而增加的特点。为了了解长寿和无明显衰老的遗传基础，我们构建了红色海胆基因组的染色体水平组装，并将其与短寿命海胆物种进行了比较。全基因组同线性比对鉴定出区分短寿命和长寿命物种的染色体重排。长寿命物种中扩展的基因家族在先天免疫、感觉神经系统和基因组稳定性中发挥作用。红色海胆中受正选择作用的基因的综合网络参与基因组调控、mRNA 保真度、蛋白质平衡和线粒体功能。我们的研究结果表明，已知的长寿基因与海胆的长寿有关，但也揭示了可能促进长期维持组织内稳态、抵抗疾病和无明显衰老的独特分子特征。
