Chelonoidis abingdonii · NCBI taxid 106734
Galapagos/Pinta giant tortoise
POLD1, RMI2, NEIL1, XRCC6, TERT, PRF1
Balaena mysticetus · NCBI taxid 27602
Bowhead whale
ERCC1, PCNA, CIRBP, UCP1, TERT, SIRT6
Somniosus microcephalus · NCBI taxid 191813
Greenland shark
H1-0, H1-4, FTH1, FTL, RAD51, XRCC5
Heterocephalus glaber · NCBI taxid 10181
Naked mole-rat
HAS2, CDKN2A, CDKN1B, TP53, SOD1, NFE2L2, PARP1
How to read this table
This is a candidate-gene reference, not proof that any single gene explains lifespan. The point is to identify genetic differences and conserved pathways that may help these animals resist age-related damage: DNA repair, genome maintenance, telomere biology, cancer resistance, chromatin stability, iron/oxidative-stress handling, and extracellular matrix biology.
Blank NCBI Gene IDs do not mean the gene is absent. For bowhead whale and Greenland shark, NCBI Gene symbol annotation is sparse, so several entries remain literature/pathway-backed until assembly and protein records are validated directly.
Candidate genes by species
| Species | Gene | Function | Evidence level | NCBI Gene | Source | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galapagos/Pinta giant tortoise Chelonoidis abingdonii |
POLD1 DNA polymerase delta catalytic subunit |
DNA replication/repair | species-specific genome candidate | 116818007 | PMID 30510174 | Giant-tortoise genome paper highlights lineage-specific changes in DNA repair/genome maintenance as longevity-relevant. |
| Galapagos/Pinta giant tortoise Chelonoidis abingdonii |
RMI2 RecQ mediated genome instability 2 |
DNA repair/recombination | species-specific genome candidate | 116824391 | PMID 30510174 | Included as a genome-maintenance/DNA repair candidate process in giant tortoise longevity analyses. |
| Galapagos/Pinta giant tortoise Chelonoidis abingdonii |
NEIL1 nei like DNA glycosylase 1 |
Base-excision repair | species-specific process + GenAge ortholog | 116836254 | PMID 30510174 | DNA repair category candidate; also a GenAge aging-associated human gene. |
| Galapagos/Pinta giant tortoise Chelonoidis abingdonii |
XRCC6 X-ray repair cross complementing 6 |
Double-strand-break repair/NHEJ | species-specific process + GenAge ortholog | 116828782 | PMID 30510174 | Genome-maintenance candidate in a long-lived reptile context; human ortholog is GenAge-listed. |
| Galapagos/Pinta giant tortoise Chelonoidis abingdonii |
TERT telomerase reverse transcriptase |
Telomere maintenance | GenAge ortholog/candidate | 116817011 | PMID 30510174 | Telomere biology is a conserved aging pathway; human TERT is GenAge-listed and relevant to long-lived vertebrate comparisons. |
| Galapagos/Pinta giant tortoise Chelonoidis abingdonii |
PRF1 |
Immune surveillance | species-specific process candidate | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 30510174 | Immune-response/cancer-resistance process highlighted in giant tortoise longevity work. |
| Bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus |
ERCC1 |
Nucleotide-excision repair | species-specific genome candidate | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 25565328 | Bowhead genome analyses reported bowhead-specific substitutions in ERCC1, a DNA repair gene, as a longevity/cancer-resistance candidate. |
| Bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus |
PCNA |
DNA replication/repair | species-specific genome candidate | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 25565328 | Bowhead genome analyses reported bowhead-specific substitutions in PCNA, a DNA replication/repair gene. |
| Bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus |
CIRBP |
Stress response/DNA repair | species-specific functional candidate | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 41960904 | Recent bowhead work links cold-inducible CIRBP with enhanced double-strand-break repair. |
| Bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus |
UCP1 |
Mitochondrial thermogenesis/metabolism | species-specific genome candidate | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 25565328 | Bowhead comparative-genome discussions highlight UCP1 changes in relation to metabolism/thermoregulation. |
| Bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus |
TERT |
Telomere maintenance | GenAge ortholog/candidate | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 25565328 | Conserved aging pathway; GenAge human TERT is curated, but bowhead-specific evidence is weaker. |
| Bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus |
SIRT6 |
DNA repair/chromatin/metabolism | GenAge ortholog/candidate | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 25565328 | Conserved mammalian aging gene; useful candidate for long-lived mammal comparisons, but not treated as bowhead-specific proof. |
| Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus |
H1-0 |
Linker histone/chromatin stability | species-specific genome candidate | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 42154556 | Greenland shark genome work reports amino-acid changes in linker histone proteins as chromatin/genome-stability candidates. |
| Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus |
H1-4 |
Linker histone/chromatin stability | species-specific genome candidate | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 42154556 | Linker histone candidate from Greenland shark genome/chromatin-stability interpretation. |
| Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus |
FTH1 |
Ferritin/iron homeostasis | species-specific genome candidate | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 42154556 | Greenland shark genome report describes ferritin-family expansion, suggesting iron/oxidative-stress control. |
| Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus |
FTL |
Ferritin/iron homeostasis | species-specific genome candidate | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 42154556 | Ferritin/iron-metabolism candidate related to oxidative-stress and ferroptosis control. |
| Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus |
RAD51 |
Homologous recombination repair | pathway candidate, verify by assembly | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 42154556 | DNA-repair pathway expansion is reported; RAD51 is a core conserved repair candidate. |
| Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus |
XRCC5 |
Double-strand-break repair/NHEJ | pathway candidate, verify by assembly | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 42154556 | DNA-repair pathway candidate; exact shark annotation requires genome build validation. |
| Naked mole-rat Heterocephalus glaber |
HAS2 hyaluronan synthase 2 |
Hyaluronan synthesis/cancer resistance | species-specific functional evidence | 101724130 | PMID 23783513 | High-molecular-mass hyaluronan mediated cancer resistance; increased naked mole-rat Has2 improved healthspan in mice. |
| Naked mole-rat Heterocephalus glaber |
CDKN2A |
Cell-cycle arrest/contact inhibition | species-specific functional evidence | Not resolved in NCBI Gene | PMID 21993625 | p16INK4a-mediated early contact inhibition is a reported cancer-resistance mechanism. |
| Naked mole-rat Heterocephalus glaber |
CDKN1B cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1B |
Cell-cycle arrest/contact inhibition | species-specific functional evidence | 101698721 | PMID 21993625 | p27 contributes to contact inhibition barrier against uncontrolled proliferation. |
| Naked mole-rat Heterocephalus glaber |
TP53 tumor protein p53 |
Tumor suppression/DNA damage response | GenAge ortholog/candidate | 101701769 | PMID 21993625 | Conserved cancer/aging gene; relevant to naked mole-rat cancer resistance and GenAge-listed. |
| Naked mole-rat Heterocephalus glaber |
SOD1 superoxide dismutase 1 |
Oxidative-stress defense | pathway candidate + GenAge | 101713304 | PMID 21993625 | Naked mole-rat longevity literature highlights oxidative-stress resistance; SOD1 is a classic GenAge model-organism gene. |
| Naked mole-rat Heterocephalus glaber |
NFE2L2 NFE2 like bZIP transcription factor 2 |
Stress-response transcription factor | GenAge/pathway candidate | 101698153 | PMID 21993625 | Stress-resistance/oxidative-response candidate for long-lived rodent phenotype. |
| Naked mole-rat Heterocephalus glaber |
PARP1 poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 |
DNA repair/PARylation | GenAge/pathway candidate | 101703207 | PMID 21993625 | Long-lived species comparisons implicate DNA repair; PARP1 is a conserved repair/aging candidate. |
Validation resources
For a stronger scientific version, validate each candidate against sequence, protein, assembly, and domain records rather than relying only on gene symbols.
- Assembly: confirm genome assembly and annotation build.
- Nucleotide / GenBank: check DNA, mRNA, CDS, and genomic records.
- Protein: validate amino-acid changes, isoforms, and lengths.
- Gene: verify symbols, coordinates, aliases, and summaries when available.
- Taxonomy: prevent scientific-name drift.
- BioProject / BioSample: check specimen and project provenance.
- SRA: confirm variants from raw sequencing reads if necessary.
- Conserved Domain / CDD: map substitutions to functional domains.
- PubMed: separate direct functional evidence from broad inference.
- NCBI Datasets API: package reproducible genome/gene/protein downloads.
PubMed sources retrieved
| PMID | Year | Journal | Title | DOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21993625 | 2011 | Nature | Genome sequencing reveals insights into physiology and longevity of the naked mole rat. | 10.1038/nature10533 |
| 23783513 | 2013 | Nature | High-molecular-mass hyaluronan mediates the cancer resistance of the naked mole rat. | 10.1038/nature12234 |
| 25565328 | 2015 | Cell reports | Insights into the evolution of longevity from the bowhead whale genome. | 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.12.008 |
| 30510174 | 2019 | Nature ecology & evolution | Giant tortoise genomes provide insights into longevity and age-related disease. | 10.1038/s41559-018-0733-x |
| 39574710 | 2024 | bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology | DNA repair and anti-cancer mechanisms in the long-lived bowhead whale. | 10.1101/2023.05.07.539748 |
| 41162698 | 2025 | Nature | Evidence for improved DNA repair in the long-lived bowhead whale. | 10.1038/s41586-025-09694-5 |
| 41960904 | 2026 | Molecular oncology | Insights into a long life without cancer: The case of the bowhead whale. | 10.1002/1878-0261.70250 |
| 42154556 | 2026 | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | The Greenland shark genome: Insights into lifespan extremes and population dynamics. | 10.1073/pnas.2601272123 |