DNA methylation predicts age and provides insight into exceptional longevity of bats.

Title

DNA methylation predicts age and provides insight into exceptional longevity of bats.

Creator

Wilkinson GS; Adams DM; Haghani A; Lu AT; Zoller J; Breeze CE; Arnold BD; Ball HC; Carter GG; Cooper LN; Dechmann DKN; Devanna P; Fasel NJ; Galazyuk AV; Günther L; Hurme E; Jones G; Knörnschild M; Lattenkamp EZ; Li CZ; Mayer F; Reinhardt JA; Medellin RA; Nagy M; Pope B; Power ML; Ransome RD; Teeling EC; Vernes Sonja C; Zamora-Mejías D; Zhang J; Faure PA; Greville LJ; Horvath S

Publisher

Nature Communications

Date

2021
2021-03-12

Description

Exceptionally long-lived species, including many bats, rarely show overt signs of aging, making it difficult to determine why species differ in lifespan. Here, we use DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles from 712 known-age bats, representing 26 species, to identify epigenetic changes associated with age and longevity. We demonstrate that DNAm accurately predicts chronological age. Across species, longevity is negatively associated with the rate of DNAm change at age-associated sites. Furthermore, analysis of several bat genomes reveals that hypermethylated age- and longevity-associated sites are disproportionately located in promoter regions of key transcription factors (TF) and enriched for histone and chromatin features associated with transcriptional regulation. Predicted TF binding site motifs and enrichment analyses indicate that age-related methylation change is influenced by developmental processes, while longevity-related DNAm change is associated with innate immunity or tumorigenesis genes, suggesting that bat longevity results from augmented immune response and cancer suppression.

Subject

DNA Methylation; Aging/genetics; Animals; Carcinogenesis/genetics; Chiroptera/genetics; Chromatin; Epigenesis Genetic; Genetic Techniques; Histones; Immunity Innate/genetics; Longevity/genetics; Phylogeny

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Format

journalArticle

URL Address

http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21900-2

Search for Full-text

NEOMED Full-text Holding (if available) - Proxy DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21900-2

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Pages

1615

Issue

1

Volume

12

ISSN

2041-1723

NEOMED College

NEOMED College of Medicine

NEOMED Department

Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology

Update Year & Number

April 2021 List

Citation

Wilkinson GS; Adams DM; Haghani A; Lu AT; Zoller J; Breeze CE; Arnold BD; Ball HC; Carter GG; Cooper LN; Dechmann DKN; Devanna P; Fasel NJ; Galazyuk AV; Günther L; Hurme E; Jones G; Knörnschild M; Lattenkamp EZ; Li CZ; Mayer F; Reinhardt JA; Medellin RA; Nagy M; Pope B; Power ML; Ransome RD; Teeling EC; Vernes Sonja C; Zamora-Mejías D; Zhang J; Faure PA; Greville LJ; Horvath S, “DNA methylation predicts age and provides insight into exceptional longevity of bats.,” NEOMED Bibliography Database, accessed September 20, 2024, https://neomed.omeka.net/items/show/11624.