Dr. Andrea Bodnar with a 120-year-old red sea urchin.

Sea urchins present a unique opportunity to advance our understanding of aging due to the existence of species with tremendously different natural life spans, including species which display negligible aging. The red sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus) is one of the earth's longest living animals, living in excess of 100 years with no apparent age-related decline in health or reproductive capacity and no reported cases of cancer. In contrast, Lytechinus variegatus has an estimated maximum lifespan of only 3-4 years, while the maximum lifespan of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus is estimated to be approximately 50 years.

Our goal is to use sea urchins as novel model organisms for aging by understanding the molecular factors underlying the differences in longevity between species and their apparent resistance to acquiring cancer. Initially we have investigated telomere biology and found sustained telomerase expression and maintenance of telomeres in both long- and short-lived sea urchins species, indicating a lack of telomere-driven senescence. Current research is focused on investigating age-related changes in gene expression in species with different life spans.

FACULTY CONTACTS:

KEY PUBLICATION:

Francis, N, T Gregg, R Owen, T Ebert and A Bodnar. (2006)
Lack of age-associated telomere shortening in long- and short-lived species of sea urchins.
FEBS Letters, 580: 4713-4717.