Oxygen-control genes could help treat heart attacks, strokes

Turtles do everything slowly—in addition to sluggish movement, they evolve very slowly. In fact, their basic shapes haven’t changed in 200 million years. But the genome of the western painted turtle has developed a remarkable ability to go without oxygen for months. And this genomic change could point to better heart attack and stroke treatments for us.

Richard Wilson, director of the Genome Institute at Washington University, St. Louis (Missouri), led a team that sequenced the genome of the western painted turtle, which is the most abundant turtle in North America. The scientists identified 19 genes in the brain and 23 in the heart that are activated during hibernation, when the turtle consumes little to no oxygen. One gene in particular, APOLD1, expresses itself 130-fold more in oxygen-deprived conditions than normally.

Most important, these genes are all shared by us. Which means, once we know how the turtle switches on its peculiar gene expression system, we might be able to adapt our genes (or provide therapy) in cases of oxygen deprivation to the heart and brain (otherwise known as heart attack or stroke).

Other aspects of the turtle’s life could also be better understood by this genomic study. Turtles can resist the effects of aging, reproduce even when very old, and their bodies can freeze and thaw without damaging internal organs.

There is one problem with evolving as a turtle; possible extinction. About half of the 330 turtle species on earth are considered threatened.

Source: Washington University St. Louis

Photo: Hat.bc.ca

Abramyan, J., et al. (2013). The western painted turtle genome, a model for the evolution of extreme physiological adaptations in a slowly evolving lineage Genome Biology, 14 (3) DOI: 10.1186/gb-2013-14-3-r28

turtle adaption, evolution of sea turtle, facts about turtles