Le tartarughe giganti che danno il nome all’arcipelago equatoriale delle Galapagos, nell’Oceano Pacifico, posseggono delle varianti genetiche legate alla riparazione del loro DNA che permette agli animali di guarire più velocemente in caso di problemi di salute e di vivere così più a lungo, come si può leggere in una nota del Parco nazionale delle Galapagos che custodisce le testuggini.
Il patrimonio genetico della tartaruga gigante George il Solitario, morta in cattività nel 2012, è stato analizzato da una squadra internazionale di ricercatori che ha individuato le varianti genetiche in grado di riparare il DNA di questa specie animale.
Allo studio, pubblicato sulla rivista Nature Ecology & Evolution, hanno partecipato esperti dell’università spagnola di Oviedo, di quella statunitense di Yale, dell’Organizzazione di conservazione delle Galapagos e del Parco nazionale, il cui direttore, Jorge Carrion, ha ricordato che l’aver “decifrato i segreti di longevità delle tartarughe giganti, sarà utile per la protezione delle diverse specie di testuggini (una decina in tutto) delle Galapagos.
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