Assistant Professor of Biology Adam McLain gave a talk on Friday, November 3rd at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Genome Informatics conference entitled “The Evolution of Lifespan and the Epigenome Assessed by CpG Frequency in Conserved Mammalian Promoters."

This research, done in collaboration with Christopher Faulk of the University of Minnesota, examines the conservation of CpG sites in promoter regions of DNA for genes that are associated with aging across the mammalian radiation.

"CpG sites are linked to DNA methylation and the deactivation of genes. A higher CpG density would serve as a kind of buffer against the methylation accruing as an organism ages, thus protecting the promoter regions for genes associated with aging from deactivation," says Dr. McLain. "131 mammal species were surveyed, including 28 primates, and strong (>94%) correlation was found for conservation of these CpG sites in promoter regions across the species surveyed despite radically variable lifespans across these species."

McLain says this indicates that genes related to aging are “insulated” to some degree from the impact of DNA methylation as an organism ages, and that this protective mechanism is conserved across the mammalian radiation.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is a leading international center for research and education. As part of its mission, each year CSHL organizes 25 scientific conferences, 20 Banbury Center meetings and 30 advanced technical science courses, with organizers, instructors and participants from all over the world.