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Learn about Turritopsis Dohrnii, the longest living animal on Earth: Okezone techno

JAKARTA – Until now, turtles have been considered long-lived animals, because they can live for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, this is not entirely true, because the longest living animal on earth is actually a jellyfish.

It is the Turritopsis Dohrnii jellyfish, or also known as the immortal jellyfish. Because they live so long, it appears these jellyfish may escape death, as compiled by Science Focus on Thursday (8/3/2023).

Even more impressive, the jellyfish Turritopsis Dohrnii floated in the seas long before the dinosaurs went extinct, which was about 66 million years ago. One thing that causes it to die early is because it is preyed upon by predators such as sharks.

The long life span of the Turritopsis Dohrnii jellyfish is due to the fact that they can rewind their life cycle when injured or on the verge of starvation. This means that they can live forever, even if they are only three millimeters in diameter.

When hungry, injured, or in water that is too cold or too hot, the adult Turritopsis dohrnii will sink to the seabed and turn into a small piece of tissue (known as a cyst). This was done so that he could live longer.

This is an ability known as transdifferentiation. According to Dr. Maria Pia Miglietta, a professor at Texas A & M University in Galveston, her life cycle can continue from inception to adulthood within 3 days.

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“In a cyst, the mature cell can become something the polyp needs and then, crucially, reintegrate back into the body. In just two or three days, the jellyfish can turn back into a polyp,” she said.

The exact mechanism behind this transdifferentiation is still a mystery to scientists. However, as Miglietta explains, the answer will most likely be found in the jellyfish’s DNA, since it is the DNA that programs specific cells or genes.

“It has to have something to do with the DNA. Right now, we wanted to understand what kind of gene is activated in the cyst. Because we thought it was a gene involved in regeneration and the ability to escape death,” he explained.

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