The big brown bat can live up to 19 years. One of the secrets to the bat's long life is its ability to stay in the air.
According to the study, Hitler has allowed bats and other animals to stay in areas where there's no food in the winter. People who live in the same area tend to live longer than people who emigrate. We didn't know if we would be able to detect epigenetic age changes.
A big brown bat's epigenetic clock is extended by three-quarters of a year when it is hibernated. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B in August of 2022.
They analyzed small tissue samples from the wings of 20 big brown bats in the winter and summer. The bats ranged in age from one year old to 10 years old.
After the samples were collected, the researchers measured the changes in the genes between samples taken from the same animal. They found that certain sites in the bat's genome appeared to affect metabolism during hibernation.
The sites that decrease methylation in the winter seem to be having an active effect. Many of the genes that are close to them are known to regulate metabolism.
The genes that were identified as "longevity genes" in a previous study are the same genes that are found in these. There is an overlap between the longevity genes and the hibernation genes.
The first epigenetic clock for bats was established by the earlier study. The researchers were able to show that hibernation reduces a bat's epigenetic age in comparison to a non-hibernating animal of the same age.
Bats have longer lifespans than expected, thanks to studies like this. New questions were raised.
Some bats can live a long time and others don't, but we don't know why. The ones that live a long time all have the same ability to go into torpor. It's not enough because rodents don't live long.
A follow-up study is planned to compare the aging of big brown bats in Canada and the same species in Florida. The goal is to get a clearer picture of the role that hibernation plays in prolonging lifespans.
The paper "Big brown bats experience slower epigenetic aging during hibernation" was published in August of 2022.
More information: Big brown bats experience slower epigenetic aging during hibernation, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0635. rspb.royalsocietypublishing.or … .1098/rspb.2022.0635 Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B
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