Do you know Pando? This forest tree, located in North America, is the largest and oldest living organism on Earth, as has just been demonstrated by its genetic analysis, published on November 1, 2024 in the journal Nature.
Pandomeans “ I stretch out » in Latin. That’s the least we can say for this tree-forest in Utah, North America, made up of 47,000 aspen trees, or more precisely of a single, genetically identical tree linked by its network root.
A tree-forest of clones absolutely unique in the world, which is in fact the heaviest living organism on the planet, with a biomass estimated at nearly 6,000 tonnes extending over more than 40 hectares. We knew that this iconic Pando forest tree, with its dark green foliage as far as the eye could see, was one of the oldest living organisms on earth. Evolutionary biologists and geneticists from the University of Utah and the Atlanta Institute of Technology have just demonstrated this.
By sequencing hundreds of samples of Pando bark, leaves and roots, Rozenn Pineau et William Ratcliff were able to estimate its age between 16,000 and 80,000 years, i.e. the oldest living being on Earth known to date.
Thousands of cottonwood trees turn bright red, yellow and orange colors as fall arrives in the high elevations of Fishlake National Forest October 10, 2023, near the small town of Loa, Utah. Fishlake National Forest is home to the Pando Aspen, the largest organism in the world © George Rose/Getty Images
The oldest and strongest
To explain the reasons for such longevity, geneticist Rozenn Pineau, co-author of this study in the journal Natureputs forward as a hypothesis that of latriploidy: the fact of containing three sets of identical chromosomes, and not two like most living beings. A mechanism that would provide the Pando forest tree with better protection of its genome, with larger cells resulting in larger organisms in better physical shape, which would explain the resistance, endurance and durability of poplar clones aspens.
The researchers will therefore continue their investigations of the Pando tree-forest, but also of the genetic protection mechanisms of trees and plants in general whose growth is, if not infinite, in any case indefinite.
In the meantime, I offer you a little sound immersion in the very heart of the oldest living tree in the world, thanks to the work of a sound artist, Jeff Ricevery inspired by Pando. He recorded the sounds and vibrations of the wind passing through the leaves, trunk and roots of the Pando Forest Tree in Utah.
