IMMORTAL JELLYFISH: Turritopsi Dohrnii

Turritopsis dohrnii is an immortal jellyfish specy which can regenerate themselves and biologically immortal. This jellyfish can regenerate itself and when matured enough can turn back to its early developmental stages and regenerate itself again.

To understand to this process, here is some developmental stages of Jellyfishes:

Life Stages of a Jelly Fish

1) The Egg – Stage 1 –

Large groups of jellyfishes gather and start spawning. Jellyfishes release large amounts of sperm and eggs and these fertilized eggs float in the ocean until they find a hard surface to establish themselves.

2) Planula– Stage 2 –

This is the stage that the eggs establish themselves on a hard surface. Once eggs are fertilized, this is the next developmental stage. Fertilized eggs of jellyfishes grow in a planktonic spore called the planula. After some time, tiny hairs called cilia starts to grow. A planula is tiny and oval-shaped with small hairs- hair like structures called cilia that line outside the body of larva. In this stage a planula may start floating.

3) Polyp (+Scyphistoma) – Stage 3 –

This is the stage that planula settles down. In this stage the Jellyfish- planula attaches its body to a hard surface and develops into a polyp. A polyp is also known as a Scyphistoma as it start to grows. That is which has a cylindrical structure. A polyp has a disc with a mouth on top of the its base with tentacles around it and aid in attaching to surfaces. Some of the species, (in this stage-as polyps), can be in this stage for a long period as one of the developmental stages. In this stage a polyp has a well developed digestive system and may spend most of its time feeding. The polyps may form hybrid colonies in which the polyps are linked together with their feeding tubes. This is a period that an egg/Jellyfish prepares itself for maturing. As the polyp grows, sometimes it begins to segment and create clones of itself.

4) Medusa – Stage 4 –

(Ephyra => + Medusa)

This is the adult stage of a Jellyfish. In this stage, the early periods may be called as “ephyra” also. Scyphistoma metamorphosis into an ‘ephyra’. This period may be called as a young medusa.

“Ephyra “ is the newly-budded segment of a polyp. And this stage polyp-Jellyfish, becomes a free-living organism known as an ephyra. It is the precursor of the adult jelly. At this stage, the ephyra is only a few millimetres across in many species. An ephra may swims away, feeds and grows.

The ephyra is a maturing form of (to be a) medusa. An adult jellyfish. In “ephyra” stage, the jellyfish still may not have “closed bell-shape” and “stinging tentacles” of an adult jellyfish. Also its lobes of bell to push food toward from mouth still may be developing.

When it comes to Medusa stage, this is a matured form of a Jellyfish as an adult. As generally known shape and as an adult.

HOW IMMORTAL JELLYFISHES BECOME IMMORTAL ?

This Jellyfish specy has the ability regenerate/rejuvanete itself. Medusa (adult form of a Jellyfish) of this specy may regenerate itself. This specy shrinks it self when regeneration started and turns into the polyp stage. When the medusa of this specy is physically damaged or when it experiences stresses in terms of various possibilities including starvation, instead of dying; it shrinks in on itself, reabsorbing its tentacles, shrink and then being regenerated.

A new study compared T. dohrnii (Immortal Jellyfish) to T. Rubra (A relative jellyfish), a related jellyfish species that ages normally. When it (T. Dohrnii- Immortal Jellyfish) copmpared to its relative specy, researchers found that the “immortal jellyfish” has double the amount of genes that related with repairing and protecting the DNA.( Jason P. Dinh for New Scientist.) This allows T. Dohrnii (The Immortal Jellyfish) to produce more restorative-regenerative proteins.

Also there some other differences found in several other genes. These genes and gene groups, including those associated with replication and stem cell population. “Immortal jellyfish” has some possible mutations that preserved telomeres ( DNA sequences at the end of Chromosomes and protects the DNA and chromosomes and may shorten during time) New Scientist writes. These differences may be key to the jellyfish’s immortality.

Understanding this mechanisms and applying in our lives may be a hope for one more step to immortality and longer lifes.

We hope to soon some advances in these areas, may help us (all animals: dogs, cats, birds, humans) and loved ones to live longer lifes.