Comparative genomics of mortal and immortal cnidarians unveils novel keys behind rejuvenation

Abstract

Turritopsis dohrnii is the only metazoan able to rejuvenate repeatedly after its medusae reproduce, hinting at biological immortality and challenging our understanding of aging. We present and compare whole-genome assemblies of T. dohrnii and the nonimmortal Turritopsis rubra using automatic and manual annotations, together with the transcriptome of life cycle reversal (LCR) process of T. dohrnii. We have identified variants and expansions of genes associated with replication, DNA repair, telomere maintenance, redox environment, stem cell population, and intercellular communication. Moreover, we have found silencing of polycomb repressive complex 2 targets and activation of pluripotency targets during LCR, which points to these transcription factors as pluripotency inducers in T. dohrnii. Accordingly, we propose these factors as key elements in the ability of T. dohrnii to undergo rejuvenation.