Further studies have shown that ontogeny reversal is also possible in other cnidarian species[6]. Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal have also been reported to highly express genes associated to cnidarian axial patterning and development, such as the Wnt pathway (Hasegawa et al. . The FatiGO (Al-Shahrour et al. Cloudblast: Combining mapreduce and virtualization on distributed resources for bioinformatics applications, pp. They concluded that this disjunct distribution could not be explained by long-distance dispersal of medusae in ballast water, or polyps on ships hulls. How does the immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) live for so long? Turritopsis dohrnii, famously known as the 'immortal jellyfish', can transform its existing cells into a younger state when suffering starvation, physical damage or other afflictions. Science of the immortal jellyfish, Earth's longest living animal | BBC 2008). Image Credit: Shin Kubota, Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Japan. With a global reach of over 10 million monthly readers and featuring dedicated websites for science (Phys.org), The hydranths can be colorless or pinkish. Gtz S., Garca-Gmez J. M., Terol J., Williams T. D., Nagaraj S. H. et al., 2008. The hydrozoan Turritopsis dohrnii forms branched hydroid colonies up to 35 mm high. Turritopsis dohrniis reverse development is considered a metamorphosis (Mller and Leitz 2002; Berking 1998), albeit in the opposite direction of its normal developmental trajectory and has earned T. dohrnii the popular appellation of immortal jellyfish. They originate in the Caribbean Sea (nutricula) and the Mediterranean (dohrnii). The top 10 under-expressed enrichment categories for each analysis are cumulatively reported in Additional File Q. Though acknowledged as a non-traditional approach to perform comparative transcriptomic analyses with individually constructed datasets, due the difficulty in collecting all three stages of T. dohrnii, the stages were collected and data processing was performed at different times and localities. The 'immortal' jellyfish, Turritopsis dohrnii To date, there's only one species that has been called 'biologically immortal': the jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii. September 6, 2022 Immortal jellyfish ( Turritopsis dohrnii) are smaller than the nail on your pinky finger. As a second indication that reprogramming is key to age reversal, scientists have found that the technique is used by the jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii to stay immortal. Laboratory animals have a common feature: they are easy to rear, and most research is focused on just a few species that, indeed, are exceptional in this respect. Comparative genomics of mortal and immortal cnidarians unveils - PNAS The assembled transcriptomes had a N50 value of 1,332bps for the Polyp stage, 1,434 bps for the Medusa, and 1,634bps for the Cyst. ), morphogenesis and development categories than the Cyst stage (Figure 3). Due to the small amount of output RNA (less than 100 ng), a pre-prep amplification step using a Poly-A based SMARTer Ultra Low Input RNA for Sequencing v4 kit (Clontech Laboratories (Cat .#: 634888)) was performed prior to library preparation according to manufacturers protocol. Maria Pia Miglietta, associate professor in marine biology, has been researching the unique properties of Turritopsisdohrnii, often referred to as T. dohrnii, a jellyfish species found around the world, especially off the coastline of her native Italy. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted There are many other animal (and non-animal!) The Polyp stage had the highest percentage of complete BUSCOs (95.4%), the Medusa had the second highest (93.0%), and the Cyst stage had the lowest percentage (91.3%). The frenzy for the immortal jellyfish is not yet over, after 20 years, and the phenomenon has been cited in everything from TV series such as The Big Bang Theory to the McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology[4]. Everlasting life: the 'immortal' jellyfish - RSB -, Atkinson S. D., Bartholomew J. L., and Lotan T., 2018. This Jellyfish Can Defy Death And Turn Back Time Male fruit flies' decline in fertility with age is not only driven by changes in sperm. In all, the BLASTx annotation identified 11,299, 5,051 and 7,863 Polyp, Medusa and Cyst-specific transcripts, respectively (Figure 2, names of transcripts found in Additional File I). In mice and humans, NAD levels appear to decline as we age. It is red, while the gonads are brownish, with four rust-colored dots, between the radial canals. PMC Medusae of Turritopsis dohrnii undergo reverse development in response to physical damage, adverse environmental conditions, or aging. Telomeres are protective sequences at the end of chromosomes that shortened each time the cell undergoes DNA replication, and this loss of genetic material is attributed to cellular senescence and the aging phenotype. at many locations in the Atlantic and Pacific in 2002-2009. In this paper we present a comparative analysis of the gene expression landscapes across the different life stages of T. dohrnii. Zoology. Still, the results of the study could help us understand the mechanisms of aging in general, she told the outlet. Our study of the life-stage specific T. dohrnii transcriptomes gives a glimpse of the molecular regulatory gene network controlling the stability and reprogramming of differentiated cells, tissue homeostasis, longevity, and the associated potential for organismal rejuvenation in a promising in vivo system. Hayward P., Kalmar T., and Arias A. M., 2008. Indeed, the peptidergic nervous system of the T. dohrnii medusa appears almost entirely dismantled in the cyst, where few scattered RFamide- and GLWamide- immunoreactive cells are barely or no longer detectable (A. DElia, J. Schmich, and S. Piraino, unpublished data). Signaling through G protein coupled receptors. 2023 Mar 14;120(11):e2216683120. Note: 2015; Ames et al. National Library of Medicine Turritopsis have been reported to rejuvenate after reproduction: Turritopsis dohrnii, Turritopsis sp.5, and Turritopsis sp.2 (9). On the other hand, the Polyp and Medusa incorporated only 40 transcripts in the Transposition category and 2 and 1, respectively in the Transposition, RNA-mediated category. 2019), and ancestral non-metazoan ESTs have been conserved and found in Nematostella vectensis and Acropora millepora (Technau et al. All transcriptome assemblies and annotations are available through request to the main authors. Bosch T. C., Klimovich A., Domazet-Loo T., Grnder S., Holstein T. W. et al., 2017. Transcriptome Characterization of Reverse Development in Turritopsis The Cyst assembly resulted in 234 and 236 contigs respectively in the two categories, while the Polyp possessed only 154 and 160 contigs (Table 4). Reply to Miglietta: Toward doing rigorous and innovative science with nonmodel organisms. One example is alkaline water, claimed to slow aging by reducing oxidative stress. Unable to load your collection due to an error, Unable to load your delegates due to an error, Venn diagram of the Blastx annotations from the Polyp, Medusa and Cyst stage. The Conversation, Turritopsis dohrnii, famously known as the immortal jellyfish, can transform its existing cells into a younger state when suffering starvation, physical damage or other afflictions. In effect, it has prevented its own death. 'Immortal Jellyfish' Could Spur Discoveries About Human Aging When conditions are right, they can reproduce asexually by cloning themselves and eventually turn into the jelly-like "medusa" shape that jellyfish are better known for. 2018 (Miglietta et al. Transdifferentiation and regeneration in vitro. Identification of the cryptic species of Turritopsis is only possible by molecular means (Miglietta and Lessios 2009). as well as other partner offers and accept our. HHS Vulnerability Disclosure, Help The cDNA from the cyst libraries were individually sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq4000 platform generating 150bp PE reads for each library. The transcriptomes were annotated and comparative analyses among the stages identified biological networks that were significantly over-and under-expressed in the cyst as compared to the polyp and medusa stages. The typical hydrozoan life, Venn diagram of the Blastx annotations from the Polyp, Medusa and Cyst stage., A) Cyst vs. Polyp comparative functional gene enrichment analyses reduced to the most, MeSH Another compound of interest is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). Would a "cure" for aging be abused by the wealthy? Careers, Unable to load your collection due to an error. Vega M. E., Giroux V., Natsuizaka M., Liu M., Klein-Szanto A. J. et al., 2014. -. Physical deterioration and the decline in cellular functionality and regenerative potential are characteristics associated with the process of aging. Share Share on Pinterest Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited. Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the first clinical trial of metformin to "treat" aging. Transcriptome profiling of the dynamic life cycle of the scypohozoan jellyfish Aurelia aurita. The cDNA from the polyp library was sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform (Illumina Sequencing Technologies) generating 83bp paired-end (PE) reads (Additional file B). But this research lacks much-needed human trials. Epub 2018 Feb 14. Jopling C., Boue S., and Belmonte J. C. I., 2011. Total RNA was extracted from the multiple polyps and a pooled sample of medusae (approximately 25-50 individuals for each stage) collected in Italy using Qiagens RNAeasy Mini Kit (Cat. Due to the large number of reported categories, we reduced the output of the Cyst vs. Polyp and Cyst vs. Medusa comparisons to the most specific GO term, and visualized the top 50 most comparatively enriched categories in an enriched bar graph (Figure 2). Provided by Transdifferentiation could help scientists find new ways to repair or regenerate damaged tissue. Button was suffering from a rare ailment that made him age backward. This cycle can repeat indefinitely, potentially rendering it biologically immortal. Only two hydromedusan species, Turritopsis dohrnii and T. Broader categories of aging (reference to GO:0010259, GO:007568), were also found to be under-expressed in the Cyst when compared to the Polyp stage (Table 4). The most specific processes enriched in the Medusa when compared to the Cyst were associated to organ development, transport and signaling pathways (reference to GO:0048513, GO:0034220, GO:0038042). Only one species, Turritopsis dohrnii, (which we introduced here) is known to have found the secret of eternal life. Researchers are analyzing jellyfish for their possible treatments in muscular diseases, genetic disorders and even memory aids. Categories associated with the biological aging of organisms were found to be under-expressed in the Cyst, particularly in comparison to the Polyp (Table 4). This was reflected in our assembly statistics (Table 1), as the Polyp transcriptome, constructed from 83bp PE Illumina MiSeq reads, had the shortest contigs among the three transcriptomes. Transdifferentiation and regeneration in vitro. 2014; Sanders and Cartwright 2015a, 2015b; Ortiz-Gonzlez et al. Isolated, mononucleated, striated muscle can undergo pluripotent transdifferentiation and form a complex regenerate. We compared our transcriptomes with those of other published Cnidaria belonging to five classes: Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, Cubozoa, Anthozoa and Myxozoa (Atkinson et al., 2018). NAD and compounds like resveratrol (a chemical isolated from wine) have been shown to work together to maintain the function of our mitochondria the structures that produce energy inside our cellsand thus fight off aging in mice. There is a little inconvenience, though. They have a huge influence on the course of a species' evolution. All assemblies exhibited high coverage and completeness (above 90%) in terms of gene content (Table 2). Federico Di Trocchio, a professor at the University of Lecce, who took care of the press room at the time, did not like the technical jargon I had used and rightly so. This process of transdifferentiation makes each individual organism potentially immortal (Miglietta et al. Finally, it identifies biological processes such DNA repair and integrity, role of transposable elements, cell to cell communication, and telomerase activity, as processes that occur at the Cyst stage and that are worth of further investigation. by Zachariah Wylde Research from a Texas A&M Galveston marine biologist shows mussel beds protect other species during hot days, highlighting the importance of protecting vulnerable habitats. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Additionally, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database was used to retrieve enzyme codes and further annotate our transcriptome (Additional File E). Martell L., Piraino S., Gravili C., and Boero F., 2016. Enzyme mapping against the KEGG database was also performed for each stage (Additional File E) and EC numbers were added to the annotations. GO categories that were significant in all three analyses (Cyst vs. Polyp, Cyst vs. Medusa, Cyst vs. Polyp+Medusa) and processes of interest that pertained specifically to cell surface receptor signaling were reported in (Additional File R). The life cycle of Turritopsis dohrnii. The only over-expressed signaling GO category was Phosphorelay signal transduction system (GO:0000160), and was found to be over-expressed in all analyses (Additional File J, K, L). Immortal Jellyfish Animal Facts | Turritopsis dohrnii - AZ Animals Please enable it to take advantage of the complete set of features! These results potentially indicate that the Cyst is prioritizing DNA repair processes more than the Polyp and the Medusa. It was first described from Naples, Italy, and is a common hydroid on rocky substrates in the Western Mediterranean and Adriatic where its distribution is considered cryptogenic. 2023 Feb 1;30(1):dsac047. Description and life cycle of a new species of the genus. This test however was designed to uncover the over- and under-expression of gene categories that are highly specific to the Cyst. On the other hand, cells that undergo transdifferentiation are multipotent and can switch to any cell lineage. and transmitted securely. 45,405 out of 92,659 (49.00%) contigs in the Polyp, 33,836 out of 74,639 (45.33%) contigs in the Medusa, 38,565 out of 86,373 (44.65%) contigs in the Cyst assembly showed significant similarity to proteins in the NR database in the BLASTx step (Additional File H). Scientists Analyzed DNA of Immortal Jellyfish to Find Secret to - VICE The telomerase reverse transcriptase isoform x1 enzyme was found annotated in all three of transcriptomes with a e-value of 0.00. 2008) against NCBIs Non-Redundant (NR) database using the following parameters: e-value of e-3, word size of 6, HSP length cutoff of 33, and top 20 hits were saved. DNA integration (GO:0015074), was among the top 10 over-expressed categories in the Cyst vs. Polyp and Cyst vs. Polyp + Medusa analyses (Additional File L). Two studies highlight alkaline water's positive effects for acid-base balance in the bloodstream, or increasing hydration status during exercise. Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. 2004) package within the data mining tools in B2G. Ian Gavan / Getty Images In oceans across the globe, a tiny jellyfish speciessmaller. Hydrozoa metamorphosis and pattern formation. Maria Pia Miglietta, associate professor in marine biology, has been researching the unique properties of Turritopsis dohrnii, often referred to as T. dohrnii, a jellyfish species found around the world, especially off the coastline of her native Italy. Greater, as it was known, was the most famous flamingo in Australia's Adelaide Zoo when it was put to sleep at age 83. .