Evolutionary paths to mammalian longevity through the lens of gene expression

Abstract

The natural variation in mammalian longevity and its underlying mechanisms remain an active area of aging research. In the latest issue of The EMBO Journal, Liu et al (2023) analyze gene expression levels in 103 mammalian species across three tissues, revealing tissue‐specific associations between gene expression patterns and longevity. Remarkably, the study suggests that methionine restriction, a strategy shown to increase lifespan, may extend beyond artificial interventions and is similarly employed by natural selection.