AgingSep 9, 2026

How organisms with exceptionally long lifespans share common traits

Longevity & Aging Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Sep 10, 2026

Abstract

Out of 101 multicellular species with a maximum lifespan of 250+ years, 11 are animals and 90 are plants.

Species living twice as long as humans may provide insights into healthier and longer living.
Mechanisms regulating lifespan variation include DNA maintenance, stemness, and stress management.
Similarities exist between mechanisms of intraspecific (within species) and interspecific (between species) lifespan variation.
These lifespan-related mechanisms are also found in early developmental stages and germ cells.
Caution is advised due to limited molecular studies and varying methodologies in existing research.

Simplified

Organisms vary in their lifespan. Understanding this variation may help us live healthier and longer. Here, we focus on species living twice as long as humans, or more. Out of the 101 multicellular species with a maximum lifespan of 250+ years, 11 are animals and 90 are plants. We surveyed the genetic, transcriptional, proteomic, metabolomic, regeneration-, stress-, and cancer-related components of intraspecific and interspecific lifespan variation, across these species. We examined whether the mechanisms regulating intraspecific lifespan variation across these species are the same or different from mechanisms regulating interspecific lifespan variation. We identified several similarities: both types of variation include mechanisms related to DNA maintenance, stemness, and stress management. Such mechanisms are also typical of early developmental stages and germ cells. Nonetheless, caution should be exercised when attempting to draw robust conclusions based on available data, given the lack of in-depth molecular studies on the healthspan and lifespan across thousands of individuals and species, the methodological variation across published studies, and our partial understanding of the interplay between physiology and the environment across species.

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How organisms with exceptionally long lifespans share common traits

Abstract

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