Telomere dynamics in wild banded mongooses: Evaluating longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal markers of senescence

Hares, Michelle C.; Vitikainen, Emma I. K.; Marshall, Harry H.; Thompson, Faye J.; Blount, Jonathan D.; Cant, Michael A.

doi:10.1016/j.exger.2017.09.021

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Our study highlights the plastic nature of telomere length, which may both shorten and lengthen with time within individuals (e.g. [101][102][103] ). Telomere lengthening has been thought to represent measurement error 104 , but recent studies have produced evidence that telomere lengthening occurs in several species 25,26,36,71,83,[105][106][107][108] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Longitudinal telomere dynamics within natural lifespans of a wild bird

Pepke

Kvalnes

Wright

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Telomeres, the nucleotide sequences that protect the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, shorten with each cell division and telomere loss may be influenced by environmental factors. Telomere length (TL) decreases with age in several species, but little is known about the sources of genetic and environmental variation in the change in TL (∆TL) in wild animals. In this study, we tracked changes in TL throughout the natural lifespan (from a few months to almost 9 years) of free-living house sparrows (Passerdomesticus) in two different island populations. TL was measured in nestlings and subsequently up to four times during their lifetime. TL generally decreased with age (senescence), but we also observed instances of telomere lengthening within individuals. We found some evidence for selective disappearance of individuals with shorter telomeres through life. Early-life TL positively predicted later-life TL, but the within-individual repeatability in TL was low (9.2%). Using genetic pedigrees, we found a moderate heritability of ∆TL (h2 = 0.21), which was higher than the heritabilities of early-life TL (h2 = 0.14) and later-life TL measurements (h2 = 0.15). Cohort effects explained considerable proportions of variation in early-life TL (60%), later-life TL (53%), and ∆TL (37%), which suggests persistent impacts of the early-life environment on lifelong telomere dynamics. Individual changes in TL were independent of early-life TL. Finally, there was weak evidence for population differences in ∆TL that may be linked to ecological differences in habitat types. Combined, our results show that individual telomere biology is highly dynamic and influenced by both genetic and environmental variation in natural conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Longitudinal telomere dynamics within natural lifespans of a wild bird

Pepke

Kvalnes

Wright

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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“…Our study highlights the plastic nature of telomere length, which may both shorten and lengthen with time within individuals (e.g. [95][96][97]). Telomere lengthening has been thought to represent measurement error [98], but recent studies have produced evidence that telomere lengthening occurs in several species [21,22,32,65,77,[99][100][101][102].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal telomere dynamics within natural lifespans of a wild bird

Pepke

Kvalnes

Wright

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Telomeres, the nucleotide sequences that protect the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, shorten with each cell division and telomere loss may be increased by factors such as oxidative stress. Telomere length (TL) decreases with age in several species, and TL or the change in TL (∆TL) have emerged as biomarkers reflecting experienced stress. In this study, we tracked changes in TL throughout the natural lifespan (from a few months to almost 9 years) of free-living house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in two different island populations. TL was measured in nestlings and subsequently up to 4 times during their lifetime. TL generally decreased with age (senescence), but we also observed instances of telomere lengthening within individuals. We found some evidence for selective disappearance of individuals with shorter telomeres through life. Early-life TL positively predicted later-life TL, but the within-individual repeatability in TL was low (9.2%). Using genetic pedigrees, we found a moderate heritability of ∆TL (h2 = 0.21), which was higher than the heritabilities of early-life TL (h2 = 0.14) and later-life TL measurements (h2 = 0.15). Cohort effects explained considerable proportions of variation in early-life TL (60%), later-life TL (53%), and ∆TL (37%), which suggests persistent impacts of the early-life environment on lifelong telomere dynamics. Individual changes in TL were independent of early-life TL. Finally, there was weak evidence for population differences in ∆TL that may be linked to ecological differences in habitat types. Combined, our results show that individual telomere biology is highly dynamic and influenced by both genetic and environmental variation in natural conditions.

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“…Yet results have not been consistent across studies. In a longitudinal study of the banded mongoose ( Mungos mungos ), leucocyte telomeres were longer than telomeres measured in ear cartilage with only ear cartilage telomeres shortening with age (Hares et al., 2018). While not including blood telomeres, investigations into mammals of similar size but different lifespans found correlations across muscle, kidney and lung rTL in rats ( Rattus norvegicus ) but only in muscle and kidney in the blind mole rat ( Spalax ehrenbergi ; Adwan Shekhidem et al., 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wing: A suitable nonlethal tissue type for repeatable and rapid telomere length estimates in bats

Power

Bertelsen

et al. 2020

Molecular Ecology Resources

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Telomeres are used increasingly in ecology and evolution as biomarkers for ageing and environmental stress, and are typically measured from DNA extracted from nonlethally sampled blood. However, obtaining blood is not always possible in field conditions and only limited amounts can be taken from small mammals, such as bats, which moreover lack nucleated red blood cells and hence yield relatively low amounts of DNA. As telomere length can vary within species according to age and tissue, it is important to determine which tissues serve best as a representation of the organism as a whole. Here, we investigated whether wing tissue biopsies, a rapid and relatively noninvasive tissue collection method, could serve as a proxy for other tissues when measuring relative telomere length (rTL) in the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus). Telomeres were measured from blood, brain, heart, kidney, liver lung, muscle and wing, and multiple wing biopsies were taken from the same individuals to determine intra‐individual repeatability of rTL measured by using qPCR. Wing rTL correlated with rTL estimates from most tissues apart from blood. Blood rTL was not significantly correlated with rTL from any other tissue. Blood and muscle rTLs were significantly longer compared with other tissues, while lung displayed the shortest rTLs. Individual repeatability of rTL measures from wing tissue was high (>70%). Here we show the relationships between tissue telomere dynamics for the first time in a bat, and our results provide support for the use of wing tissue for rTL measurements.

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Telomere dynamics in wild banded mongooses: Evaluating longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal markers of senescence

Cited by 8 publications

References 66 publications

Longitudinal telomere dynamics within natural lifespans of a wild bird

Longitudinal telomere dynamics within natural lifespans of a wild bird

Longitudinal telomere dynamics within natural lifespans of a wild bird

Wing: A suitable nonlethal tissue type for repeatable and rapid telomere length estimates in bats

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