Turrotopsis Nutricula and Living Forever
Ever wanted to live forever? Be a
Jellyfish! When thinking of the word jellyfish, for
most people, it is the thought of horrible searing stings and the infamous Portuguese Man o’ War which springs to mind. However there is
one Jellyfish, Turrotopsis nutricula,
which appears to break the seemingly golden rule of life: that everything must die.
This is because the Turrotopsis nutricula
is, theoretically, biologically immortal - a title that it alone holds.
This brings about a very important question: How?
The process by which the Turrotopsis nutricula stays young is a kind of ‘reverse metamorphosis’
called cell transdifferentiation. Cell
transdifferentiation is the process in which the jellyfish alters the
differentiated state of a cell into a new type of cell. Significantly, there is
no intermediate step where the cell converts into a stem cell first; the change
is from one somatic cell to another.
This process allows
the Jellyfish to revert from the medua
stage (fully formed adult jellyfish) to the polyp stage (sexually immature, stalk-like form). Cell
transdifferentiation is not only triggered by age but by environmental
stresses, such as starvation. Since the process can be repeated indefinitely
this means that as long as the jellyfish does not succumb to predation or disease
that it can live, in theory, indefinitely.
What does this mean for me?
Unsurprising the nutricula's phenomenal properties has
developed great interest in many scientific circles, particularly in stem cell research. It is at the forefront of many studies in
organ reproduction, cancer treatments and brain injury treatments to name a
few. The jellyfish cells are very similar to cancer cells in the way they are
able to affect the normal process of genetic systems. By studying the cells of
the jellyfish, the scientists are hoping to gain greater insight elusive cure
for cancer.
The Turrotopsis nutricula is undoubtedly one
of the most amazing animals in the animal kingdom and arguably, of all
time. By mere chance this otherwise inconspicuous
jellyfish has developed the perhaps the most desirable evolutionary trait ever dreamt of.
However, immortality has a price. The ability to
reproduce alongside eternal life means the numbers of Turrotopsis nutricula are increasing exponentially, and they are
now spreading. In what is being dubbed as the ‘Silent Invasion’ by the
tabloids, Turrotopsis nutricula is
spreading away from its native Caribbean seas by hitchhiking on the hulls of
large ships and is migrating into waters closer to home. Spain and Italy have
already identified the Turrotopsis nutricula
off their own shores. With no predators seemingly up to the task of slowing
their advance, it appears this unique jellyfish will distort ecosystems around the world as it
secures its hold over the world’s oceans.
- Adam
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