ArticleNature communications2021
DNA methylation predicts age and provides insight into exceptional longevity of bats.
Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 103 papers.
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Who cites it
103 citing papers in PubMed, 165 citations in OpenAlex.
- Epigenetic insights into extreme longevity in the world's oldest terrestrial animal, Jonathan.Science advances · 2026Article
- Validating Wing Biopsies for Blood-Borne Pathogen Characterization in Bats.Molecular ecology · 2026Article
- Leukocyte profiles reveal sex and age differences in immune investment in a polygynous bat.The Journal of animal ecology · 2026Article
- Non-Invasive Measures of DNA Methylation Capture Molecular Aging in Wild Capuchin Monkeys.Molecular ecology · 2026Article
- Telomere biology and telomerase regulation across species: evolutionary insights into aging, longevity, and genome stability.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Genome-Wide 6mA Map Unveils Epigenetic Adaptation in Deep-Sea Limpet.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- An Epigenetic Clock for Accurate Age Prediction in Atlantic Cod Populations for Improved Fisheries Management.Molecular ecology resources · 2026Article
- Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Patterns Predict Age in the Zebra Shark (Stegostoma tigrinum) and Provide Insight Into the Evolution of Vertebrate Aging.Molecular ecology · 2026Article
- Molecular evolution of animal aging.The EMBO journal · 2026Review
- Epigenetic Signatures of Ageing in Asian Elephants Revealed by Reduced Representation Bisulphite Sequencing.Evolutionary applications · 2026Article
- Parental kinship influences global methylation and epigenetic age estimation in Peromyscus.Genetics · 2026Article
- Interacting effects of sex and age on immune responses in a polygynous bat with male-biased mortality.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Epigenetic Age Estimation for Hawaiian False Killer Whales (Pseudorca crassidens) in the Absence of 'Known-Age' Individuals.Molecular ecology resources · 2026Article
- Aging drives a program of DNA methylation decay in plant organs.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Methods for analysing wildlife DNA methylation data.Conservation physiology · 2026Article
- Unravelling the genetics and epigenetics of the ageing tumour microenvironment in cancer.Nature reviews. Cancer · 2025Review
- Gene-Specific Substitution Rates for the Vespertilionidae (Chiroptera: Mammalia) Mitochondrial Genome, with the Description of Three new Mitogenomes.Journal of molecular evolution · 2025Article
- Semi-automated identification of individual big brown bats via collagen-elastin patterns in the wing membrane.Journal of mammalogy · 2025Article
- Designing Epigenetic Clocks for Wildlife Research.Molecular ecology resources · 2025Review
- Sex differences in DNA methylation in bats.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Article
43 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
36 authors at 18 institutions in 9 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Exceptionally long-lived species, including many bats, rarely show overt signs of aging, making it difficult to determine why species differ in lifespan. Here, we use DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles from 712 known-age bats, representing 26 species, to identify epigenetic changes associated with age and longevity. We demonstrate that DNAm accurately predicts chronological age. Across species, longevity is negatively associated with the rate of DNAm change at age-associated sites. Furthermore, analysis of several bat genomes reveals that hypermethylated age- and longevity-associated sites are disproportionately located in promoter regions of key transcription factors (TF) and enriched for histone and chromatin features associated with transcriptional regulation. Predicted TF binding site motifs and enrichment analyses indicate that age-related methylation change is influenced by developmental processes, while longevity-related DNAm change is associated with innate immunity or tumorigenesis genes, suggesting that bat longevity results from augmented immune response and cancer suppression.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.