Ancient hunter-gatherer DNA may explain why some people live to 100 years or more
Our hunter-gatherer ancestors have given us many things. They passed down mastery of fire for cooking and early survival technologies, such as stone tools. They may also have given us the secret to a long life. A new study published in the journal GeroScience found that Italian centenarians carry a higher proportion of genetic material from Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHG) compared to the general population.
It has been known for some time that longevity can be explained by “good” genes, as well as by other factors such as our environment and daily habits. Some studies have found individual genes linked to longer life, while others suggest that ancestral DNA may play a role.
Analyzing centenarian DNA
Italy has one of the highest concentrations in the world of people living to 100 or more. To help understand why, researchers analyzed the genomes of 333 centenarians and 690 healthy adult controls aged around 50. They compared the DNA of these individuals with 103 ancient genomes of the four groups that make up the modern Italian gene pool.
These are Western Hunter-Gatherers, who were among the original inhabitants of Europe after the Ice Age, Anatolian Neolithic farmers, Bronze Age nomadic groups and ancient groups from the Iranian and Caucasus regions.
The results revealed that those who reached the age of 100 tended to have more Western Hunter-Gatherer DNA than the average person. “The present study shows for the first time that the Villabruna cluster/WHG lineage… contributes to longevity in the Italian population,” wrote the research team.
While everyone in the study carried a mix of DNA from all four ancient groups, only the WHG genetic material was linked to longevity.
In fact, for every small increase in hunter-gatherer DNA, a person’s odds of becoming a centenarian rose by 38%. This was even more powerful in women, who were more than twice as likely to reach 100 if they had a higher proportion of this ancient DNA. “We propose that the variants involved in this trait [longevity] may have been introduced into the Italian gene pool at a very ancient time,” said the researchers.
Ancient DNA may protect the body
The team also has a theory as to how WHG genes may help people live to a ripe old age. They suggest that these variants were selected during the last Ice Age, when our ancestors had to survive extremely harsh conditions with limited food resources. The scientists believe these genes helped improve metabolism to process food more efficiently and strengthen the immune system to protect the body from age-related stresses.
Source: phys.org
Ancient hunter-gatherer DNA may explain why some people live to 100 years or more