A team of UCLA biologists discovered that. The researchers report in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution that large ground squirrels are able to stop the aging process when they spend seven to eight months in their underground burrows.
The study shows that the anti-aging phenomenon kicks in when the animals reach 2 years old, their age of sexual maturity.
The researchers studied marmot blood samples collected over multiple summer seasons in Colorado to build statistical models that allowed them to estimate what happened during hibernation. They looked at the biological aging of the marmots based on the hundreds of chemical modifications that occur to their DNA.
The study was conducted by a UCLA PhD student who was advised by professors of ecology and evolutionary biology.
The researchers said that this process helps explain why the average life span of a yellow-bellied marmot is longer than would be expected from its body weight.
Smaller mammals, like marmots, native to the mountainous western regions of the U.S. and Canada, are able to survive in harsh seasonal environments thanks to an evolutionary adaptation called hibernation.
There are periods of suppression that last a week or two and periods of increased metabolism that last less than a day. They feel like fuzzy, cold rocks when their breathing slows and their body temperature drops.
They burn about a single gram of fat a day. It allows them to survive long periods without food.
marmots eat a lot during the summer season so that they have enough fat to survive the winter.
The researchers said that all of these conditions are known to counter the aging process and promote longevity. They said that delayed aging is likely to occur in other mammals that hibernate.
This study is the closest scientists have gotten to showing that biological processes involved in hibernation are important contributors to their longer-than- expected life span based on their body weight.
The effect of hibernation on slowing aging is really strong, according to a senior author of the study. The importance of long-term field projects is reinforced by the fact that not many wild populations have detailed information about individual chronological age.
The researchers said that there may be advantages to inducing hibernation conditions in humans or human cells, such as preserving organs for transplantation, or as part of long-term space missions.
For the current publication, Pinho and her colleagues studied 73 female yellow-bellied marmots throughout their lives and collected blood samples every two weeks over 14 active seasons. The chronological age of the marmots was calculated based on when the juvenile first emerged from their burrows. The age of male marmots is difficult to determine because they often migrate from one area to another.
The research was funded by Brazil's Science Without Borders program and was part of a 60-year study of yellow-bellied marmots.
Robert Wayne, a UCLA professor of cell and developmental biology, and Steve Horvath, a professor of human genetics and biostatistics at UCLA, are senior study authors. The UCLA Statistical consulting group gave the authors insights.
More information: Gabriela Pinho, Hibernation slows epigenetic ageing in yellow-bellied marmots, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01679-1 Journal information: Nature Ecology & Evolution Citation: The secret to longevity? Ask a yellow-bellied marmot (2022, March 7) retrieved 7 March 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-03-secret-longevity-yellow-bellied-marmot.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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