Scientists have sequenced the genome of the Great Basin bristlecone pine , the oldest known individual non-clonal organism on Earth, in a study that may eventually help explain how the species survives for more than five millennia. The research, coordinated by the University of California, Davis and published March 17 in the journal G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics, provides the first complete reference genome for Pinus longaeva and opens a new line of investigation into the genetics of extreme longevity.
David Neale, a UC Davis professor emeritus of plant sciences who led the project and previously helped sequence the coast redwood, giant sequoia, and whitebark pine genomes, described the result as a foundational resource rather than a finished explanation. “Sequencing one tree does not give us clear insights as to the genetic basis of longevity,” he said. “But having a reference genome sequence as it applies to human health and everything else is a necessary reagent in modern biology.”
A Species That Does Not Seem to Age From Within
One of the more thought-provoking aspects of the bristlecone pine’s biology is that it does not appear to undergo biological senescence the way most organisms do. Senescence is the process by which cells age and die without being replaced, eventually leading to the organism’s death. Bristlecone pine trees do not seem to carry the genetic markers associated with this process, and when they die, the cause tends to be external: fire, storm damage, insect infestation, or physical damage, not old age in the conventional biological sense.