{"id":1775,"date":"2026-06-19T15:24:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T14:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/how-this-giant-abyssal-crustacean-survives-five-years-without-eating\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T15:24:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T14:24:58","slug":"how-this-giant-abyssal-crustacean-survives-five-years-without-eating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/how-this-giant-abyssal-crustacean-survives-five-years-without-eating\/","title":{"rendered":"How This Giant Abyssal Crustacean Survives Five Years Without Eating"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The depths of the ocean hide creatures capable of withstanding extreme famines. Researchers have finally understood how a giant crustacean survives five years without any food. This incredible endurance rests on an extraordinary anatomy and an unexpected genetic secret.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The paradox of bathynomids, giant creatures that flourish in the heart of a marine desert<\/h2>\n<p>In the ocean depths, temperatures hover near freezing and resources are scarce. Yet, supergiant isopods measuring more than <strong>45 centimeters<\/strong> and weighing several kilograms manage to thrive there. This phenomenon has intrigued the scientific community for decades.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">Oubliez les \u00e9pop\u00e9es de p\u00f4le \u00e0 p\u00f4le : la migration d\u2019oiseaux la plus courte ne d\u00e9passe pas 300 m\u00e8tres<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Indeed, sustaining an organism of such scale typically requires a steady energy input. Developing such a frame in an environment so poor in nutrients seemed to contradict the rules of biology. Recently, a team of Chinese researchers has shed light on this mystery.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An oversized internal anatomy designed to store nutrients for years<\/h2>\n<p>Biologists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences first analyzed the animal\u2019s internal structure. They found that its stomach occupies two thirds of its body. This anatomical peculiarity allows the crustacean to ingest massive amounts of food as soon as a carcass drifts by.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the giant\u2019s digestive system houses a highly specific gut flora. It contains a high concentration of <strong>Chlamydiae<\/strong> bacteria, which actively help the host assimilate and store lipids. This biological partnership thus ensures excellent calorie storage.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">Avec des \u00e9t\u00e9s plus longs sans banquise, les ours polaires risquent de basculer vers la famine<\/span><\/section>\n<p>In parallel, the animal adopts a drastic economy of its resources between two opportunistic meals. Its body then enters a state of deep metabolic vigilance. By slowing its vital functions, the crustacean reduces daily expenditures and durably preserves the energy it has accumulated.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A bacterial-origin gene that actively slows cellular activity in the cold<\/h2>\n<p>The most extraordinary aspect, however, resides in the crustacean\u2019s genetic heritage. The study reveals the presence of the <strong>ND1<\/strong> gene, an element transmitted by a bacterium. This rare phenomenon, known as horizontal gene transfer, demonstrates that an animal can assimilate bacterial DNA.<\/p>\n<p>This borrowed DNA fragment acts like a reverse thermal switch. At mild temperatures, it speeds up cellular functions, but in the frigid waters of the abyss, it triggers the opposite effect. It then blocks mitochondrial energy consumption, plunging the cells into protective rest.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">Cette cr\u00e9ature marine dont les tissus amput\u00e9s refusent de mourir intrigue les scientifiques<\/span><\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Promising medical applications thanks to tests validated on human cells<\/h2>\n<p>To scientifically validate this mechanism, researchers inserted this genetic code into other species in the laboratory. They conducted experiments on <strong>zebrafish<\/strong> and human cells. When exposed to low temperatures, these organisms demonstrated entirely new adaptive abilities.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the modified subjects showed a 37% increase in tolerance to fasting in cold environments. Moreover, analyses reveal a fine biological regulation through histone acetylation. This process enables turning the gene on or off according to environmental variations.<\/p>\n<p>These results open major perspectives far beyond marine biology. This knowledge could indeed inspire longevity medicine or the study of nutritional deprivation. They also shed light on our understanding of human or extraterrestrial life in extreme conditions.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">Champignons : les r\u00e9seaux fongiques souterrains de la Terre couvriraient 10 % de la Voie lact\u00e9e<\/span><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1767,1768,417,536,1769,447],"class_list":["post-1775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-abyssal","tag-crustacean","tag-eating","tag-giant","tag-survives","tag-years","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1775"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1777,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775\/revisions\/1777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}