Telomere length in early life predicts lifespan

Abstract

The attrition of telomeres, the ends of eukaryote chromosomes, is thought to play an important role in cell deterioration with advancing age. The observed variation in telomere length among individuals of the same age is therefore thought to be related to variation in potential longevity. Studies of this relationship are hampered by the time scale over which individuals need to be followed, particularly in long-lived species where lifespan variation is greatest. So far, data are based either on simple comparisons of telomere length among different age classes or on individuals whose telomere length is measured at most twice and whose subsequent survival is monitored for only a short proportion of the typical lifespan. Both approaches are subject to bias. Key studies, in which telomere length is tracked from early in life, and actual lifespan recorded, have been lacking. We measured telomere length in zebra finches (n = 99) from the nestling stage and at various points thereafter, and recorded their natural lifespan (which varied from less than 1 to almost 9 y). We found telomere length at 25 d to be a very strong predictor of realized lifespan (P < 0.001); those individuals living longest had relatively long telomeres at all points at which they were measured. Reproduction increased adult telomere loss, but this effect appeared transient and did not influence survival. Our results provide the strongest evidence available of the relationship between telomere length and lifespan and emphasize the importance of understanding factors that determine early life telomere length.aging | Taeniopygia guttata | senescence | bird

Brood size moderates associations between relative size, telomere length, and immune development in European starling nestlings

“…However, the large majority of individuals had a lower value at the second time point, indicating an overall pattern of telomere shortening. The ability to detect significant within‐individual change over a period of just 12 days conforms to the pattern of rapid telomere shortening in early life that has been observed elsewhere (e.g., Heidinger et al., 2012). …”

“…(2015) showed, in house sparrows, that selection for increased body size led to a reduction in mean telomere length. The existence of a negative body size–telomere length relationship is consistent with the pattern often observed within populations that larger individuals tend to live less long (Bartke, 2012; Bernstein, 2010; Miller, Harper, Galecki, & Burke, 2002), given that shorter telomeres at the end of development are associated with reduced longevity (Boonekamp, Mulder, Salomons, Dijkstra, & Verhulst, 2014; Heidinger et al., 2012). …”

Dissecting Bottromycin Biosynthesis Using Comparative Untargeted Metabolomics

“…Mature bottromycins ( 1 – 5 , Figure 2) were clearly absent in every mutant, but the complexity of the data hampered the detailed characterization of metabolites. Therefore, this was followed by mass spectral network analysis,18 which is a powerful tool that identifies similarities in MS 2 fragmentation data and builds a network of species with related MS 2 spectra, thus identifying structurally‐related molecules within a complex mixture 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24. This has been used to assess the global metabolic profiles of a single organism, either in isolation19 or when interacting with neighboring species,18 to compare the metabolomes of related organisms,20, 21, 22 to assess the metabolic potential of a new bacterial taxon,23 and to identify metabolites related to the colibactin pathway 24…”

Nestling telomere length does not predict longevity, but covaries with adult body size in wild barn swallows

“…Notably, most studies have analysed viability in relation to TL of adults. However, telomere dynamics may be most rapid among young [15], and studies analysing covariation of longevity with TL in early life-stages are needed to fully understand selection on TL. Only one such study has been carried out: in captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), TL measured 25 days post-hatching positively predicted longevity [15].…”

“…However, telomere dynamics may be most rapid among young [15], and studies analysing covariation of longevity with TL in early life-stages are needed to fully understand selection on TL. Only one such study has been carried out: in captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), TL measured 25 days post-hatching positively predicted longevity [15]. Importantly, conditions in the wild differ from those in captivity, and whether such a relationship holds under non-artificial conditions still remains to be assessed.…”