A team led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Oceanology, with collaborators at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Northwestern Polytechnical University, used multi-omics analysis and functional validation to link the extreme fasting tolerance of a deep-sea giant isopod—able to survive up to five years without stable food—to an energy-metabolism gene ND1 of bacterial origin. The study reports genetic and epigenetic regulation that enables efficient energy use at low metabolic

A team led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Oceanology, with collaborators at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Northwestern Polytechnical University, used multi-omics analysis and functional validation to link the extreme fasting tolerance of a deep-sea giant isopod—able to survive up to five years without stable food—to an energy-metabolism gene ND1 of bacterial origin. The study reports genetic and epigenetic regulation that enables efficient energy use at low metabolic rates and describes a mechanism balancing large body size with low metabolism. Findings were published in Cell on June 5 and are presented as potential new leads for obesity intervention and longevity research.