Aging is a universal trait shared among most, if not all organisms [1]–[3]. The rate and extent of aging, however, varies substantially between species. The observed maximum human lifespan of 122 years (Jeanne Calment, France) is surpassed only by rougheye rockfish, red sea urchins, bowhead whales, and the Galapagos land tortoise (all 150–200 years) [1], [4]–[6]. A variety of theories of why and how organisms age have been proposed, including oxidative damage, telomere shortening, accumulation of mutations and others (reviewed in [7]), but the contribution of individual genes and variation within these genes is still under investigation.
