Coral is the longest living animal on Earth

After studying the genome of corals, scientists from Penn State University, the US Fisheries Agency and Dial Cordy & Associates service company, showed that they are capable of living for thousands of years. Since then, coral has become the longest living animal in the world.

The team determined the age of elkhorn coral - Acropora palmata group - in Florida and the Caribbean. The estimated results of the oldest genotypes are more than 5,000 years old. The results are useful for the research process on how corals will adapt to current and future environmental changes.

Acropora palmata coral has a lifespan of thousands of years.

"Our research has shown that some of the Acropora palmate coral species have existed for a very long time, undergoing many processes of climate change including changes in sea level and sediment. "Floods, and many other events. This is a very positive information because it shows that the coral's ability to adapt to the environment is quite good . "

"On the other hand, the studied corals are on the government's special protection list based on the effects of environmental pollution and climate change, so this study will be for legislators. and protecting the environment further to protect this coral " - Iliana Baums, Associate Professor of Biology at Penn State University, said of the discovery.

Many people are confused about corals that it is just a plant or even just colorful rocks on the sea floor. Indeed, coral is a collection of invertebrate invertebrates with photosynthetic algae.

Coral is an animal.

Considered as pioneers in the application of genetic methods to assess the age of corals, P.GS Baums's group determined the initial meeting time of eggs and sperm to form the genome of the population. The coral then tracks the number of mutations accumulated in the genome from that point on. Because mutations tend to arise at a certain rate, the team can rely on it to estimate the age of the coral reef genome.

According to a study published in November in Molecular Ecology, some genomes of the Acropora palmata group have a lifespan of up to 5,000 years.

Applying genetic technology to determine age is a new breakthrough in coral research.

"This is really amazing because cold water corals have only been found around 1000 years ago. Knowing the age of some corals in the population is quite important to be able to study. If the Acropora palmata genome has been maintained for hundreds or thousands of years, it means that they have survived through many climate and environmental changes. "

"Thereby we can learn more about this group's mechanism of action and adaptability in terms of its ability to adapt to the current rapid climate change because it is possible that at the current rate, it will turn Climate change has become much more difficult to adapt than in the past ' - P.GS Buams commented on the research results of the group.