Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2025
12:11
Methodology for Accurate Detection of Mitochondrial DNA Methylation
Published on: May 20, 2018
13.4K
DNA methylation rates scale with maximum lifespan across mammals
Samuel J C Crofts1,2, Eric Latorre-Crespo3, Tamir Chandra4
1MRC Human Genetics Unit, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Nature Aging
|December 4, 2023
Summary
DNA methylation rates show a precise negative scaling with maximum lifespan across mammals. This finding suggests DNA methylation is linked to evolutionary constraints on lifespan in diverse mammalian species.
Area of Science:
- Epigenetics and Evolutionary Biology
- Comparative Genomics
- Mammalian Aging Research
Background:
- DNA methylation broadly correlates with maximum lifespan in mammals, but the precise relationship remains unclear.
- Previous studies lacked a robust framework to compare methylation patterns across diverse mammalian species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a statistically robust framework for comparing DNA methylation rates at conserved age-related sites across mammals.
- To investigate the precise relationship between DNA methylation and maximum lifespan in mammals.
Main Methods:
- Development of a statistically robust analytical framework.
- Comparison of DNA methylation rates at conserved age-related sites.
- Analysis across diverse mammalian lineages.
Main Results:
- DNA methylation rates exhibit a negative scaling relationship with maximum lifespan in both blood and skin tissues.
- This explicit scaling was observed across diverse mammalian species.
Conclusions:
- DNA methylation rates are precisely linked to maximum lifespan in mammals.
- The findings suggest DNA methylation is, or is closely associated with, an evolutionary constraint on mammalian lifespan.
Related Concept Videos
01:46Epigenetic Regulation
31.1K
Epigenetic mechanisms play an essential role in healthy development. Conversely, precisely regulated epigenetic mechanisms are disrupted in diseases like cancer.
31.1K
02:59Animal Mitochondrial Genetics
7.6K
Among all the organelles in an animal cell, only mitochondria have their own independent genomes. Animal mitochondrial DNA is a double-stranded, closed-circular molecule with around 20,000 base pairs. Mitochondrial DNA is unique in that one of its two strands, the heavy, or H, -strand is guanine rich, whereas the complementary strand is cytosine rich and called the light, or L, -strand. Compared to nuclear DNA, mitochondrial DNA has a very low percentage of non-coding regions and is marked by...
7.6K
01:29Replication in Eukaryotes
13.8K
In eukaryotic cells, DNA replication is highly conserved and tightly regulated. Multiple linear chromosomes must be duplicated with high fidelity before cell division, so there are many proteins that fulfill specialized roles in the replication process. Replication occurs in three phases: initiation, elongation, and termination, and ends with two complete sets of chromosomes in the nucleus.
Many Proteins Orchestrate Replication at the Origin
Eukaryotic replication follows many of the same...
Many Proteins Orchestrate Replication at the Origin
Eukaryotic replication follows many of the same...
13.8K
02:30Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance
34.6K
Diploid organisms inherit genetic material through chromosomes from both parents. Copies of the same gene are known as alleles. In most cases, both alleles are simultaneously expressed and allow various cellular processes to function optimally. If one of the alleles is missing or mutated, the expression of the other allele can compensate; however, this is not true for all genes.
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
34.6K
01:53RNA Stability
33.6K
Intact DNA strands can be found in fossils, while scientists sometimes struggle to keep RNA intact under laboratory conditions. The structural variations between RNA and DNA underlie the differences in their stability and longevity. Because DNA is double-stranded, it is inherently more stable. The single-stranded structure of RNA is less stable but also more flexible and can form weak internal bonds. Additionally, most RNAs in the cell are relatively short, while DNA can be up to 250 million...
33.6K
03:17Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
6.3K
Epigenetics is the study of inherited changes in a cell's phenotype without changing the DNA sequences. It provides a form of memory for the differential gene expression pattern to maintain cell lineage, position-effect variegation, dosage compensation, and maintenance of chromatin structures such as telomeres and centromeres. For example, the structure and location of the centromere on chromosomes are epigenetically inherited. Its functionality is not dictated or ensured by the underlying...
6.3K