1
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Le Clercq LS, Kotzé A, Grobler JP, Dalton DL. Biological clocks as age estimation markers in animals: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:1972-2011. [PMID: 37356823 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023]
Abstract
Various biological attributes associated with individual fitness in animals change predictably over the lifespan of an organism. Therefore, the study of animal ecology and the work of conservationists frequently relies upon the ability to assign animals to functionally relevant age classes to model population fitness. Several approaches have been applied to determining individual age and, while these methods have proved useful, they are not without limitations and often lack standardisation or are only applicable to specific species. For these reasons, scientists have explored the potential use of biological clocks towards creating a universal age-determination method. Two biological clocks, tooth layer annulation and otolith layering have found universal appeal. Both methods are highly invasive and most appropriate for post-mortem age-at-death estimation. More recently, attributes of cellular ageing previously explored in humans have been adapted to studying ageing in animals for the use of less-invasive molecular methods for determining age. Here, we review two such methods, assessment of methylation and telomere length, describing (i) what they are, (ii) how they change with age, and providing (iii) a summary and meta-analysis of studies that have explored their utility in animal age determination. We found that both attributes have been studied across multiple vertebrate classes, however, telomere studies were used before methylation studies and telomere length has been modelled in nearly twice as many studies. Telomere length studies included in the review often related changes to stress responses and illustrated that telomere length is sensitive to environmental and social stressors and, in the absence of repair mechanisms such as telomerase or alternative lengthening modes, lacks the ability to recover. Methylation studies, however, while also detecting sensitivity to stressors and toxins, illustrated the ability to recover from such stresses after a period of accelerated ageing, likely due to constitutive expression or reactivation of repair enzymes such as DNA methyl transferases. We also found that both studied attributes have parentally heritable features, but the mode of inheritance differs among taxa and may relate to heterogamy. Our meta-analysis included more than 40 species in common for methylation and telomere length, although both analyses included at least 60 age-estimation models. We found that methylation outperforms telomere length in terms of predictive power evidenced from effect sizes (more than double that observed for telomeres) and smaller prediction intervals. Both methods produced age correlation models using similar sample sizes and were able to classify individuals into young, middle, or old age classes with high accuracy. Our review and meta-analysis illustrate that both methods are well suited to studying age in animals and do not suffer significantly from variation due to differences in the lifespan of the species, genome size, karyotype, or tissue type but rather that quantitative method, patterns of inheritance, and environmental factors should be the main considerations. Thus, provided that complex factors affecting the measured trait can be accounted for, both methylation and telomere length are promising targets to develop as biomarkers for age determination in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis-Stéphane Le Clercq
- South African National Biodiversity Institute, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
- Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa
| | - Antoinette Kotzé
- South African National Biodiversity Institute, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
- Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa
| | - J Paul Grobler
- Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa
| | - Desiré Lee Dalton
- School of Health and Life Sciences, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, TS1 3BA, UK
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2
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Westneat DF, Young RC, Cones AG, Kucera AC, Anacleto A, Heidinger BJ. Early-life telomeres are influenced by environments acting at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:5959-5970. [PMID: 37837282 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
An individual's telomere length early in life may reflect or contribute to key life-history processes sensitive to environmental variation. Yet, the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors in shaping early-life telomere length is not well understood as it requires samples collected from multiple generations with known developmental histories. We used a confirmed pedigree and conducted an animal model analysis of telomere lengths obtained from nestling house sparrows (Passer domesticus) sampled over a span of 22 years. We found significant additive genetic variation for early-life telomere length, but it comprised a small proportion (9%) of the total biological variation. Three sources of environmental variation were important: among cohorts, among-breeding attempts within years, and among nestmates. The magnitude of variation among breeding attempts and among nestmates also differed by cohort, suggesting that interactive effects of environmental factors across time or spatial scales were important, yet we were unable to identify the specific causes of these interactions. The mean amount of precipitation during the breeding season positively predicted telomere length, but neither weather during a given breeding attempt nor date in the breeding season contributed to an offspring's telomere length. At the level of individual nestlings, offspring sex, size and mass at 10 days of age also did not predict telomere length. Environmental effects appear especially important in shaping early-life telomere length in some species, and more focus on how environmental factors that interact across scales may help to explain some of the variation observed among studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- David F Westneat
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | - Rebecca C Young
- Department of Biology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
| | - Alexandra G Cones
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | - Aurelia C Kucera
- Department of Biology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
| | - Angelo Anacleto
- Department of Biology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
| | - Britt J Heidinger
- Department of Biology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
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3
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Kauzálová T, Tomášek O, Mulder E, Verhulst S, Albrecht T. Telomere length is highly repeatable and shorter in individuals with more elaborate sexual ornamentation in a short-lived passerine. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6172-6183. [PMID: 35150467 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Quantifying an individual's state as a fitness proxy has proven challenging, but accumulating evidence suggests that telomere length and attrition may indicate individual somatic state and success at self-maintenance, respectively. Sexual ornamentation is also thought to signal phenotypic quality, but links between telomeres and sexual ornamentation have been little explored. To address this issue, we examined whether telomere length and dynamics are predicted by the expression of a sexually selected ornament, the length of the outermost tail feathers (streamers), using longitudinal data from a population of European barn swallows (Hirundo rustica). In 139 adult individuals, each measured twice, we further assessed associations of telomere length with age, sex, breeding status and survival. Telomere length showed high individual repeatability (R = .97) across years while shortening with age in both sexes. Telomere length and dynamics were not significantly associated with survival to the next year, remaining lifespan or reproduction status (comparing breeding and nonbreeding yearlings). Tail streamer length, a sexually selected trait in barn swallows, was negatively associated with telomere length, independent of sex. Thus, telomere length may reflect the costs of carrying an elaborated sexual ornament, although ornament size did not significantly predict telomere shortening. In conclusion, telomere length in adult barn swallows is a highly consistent trait that shows a negative relationship with sexual ornamentation, suggesting a trade-off between sexual ornamentation and telomere length.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tereza Kauzálová
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.,Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Oldřich Tomášek
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.,Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ellis Mulder
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Tomáš Albrecht
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Praha, Czech Republic
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4
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Vedder O, Moiron M, Bichet C, Bauch C, Verhulst S, Becker PH, Bouwhuis S. Telomere length is heritable and genetically correlated with lifespan in a wild bird. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6297-6307. [PMID: 33460462 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Telomeres are protective caps at the end of eukaryotic chromosomes that shorten with age and in response to stressful or resource-demanding conditions. Their length predicts individual health and lifespan across a wide range of animals, but whether the observed positive association between telomere length and lifespan is environmentally induced, or set at conception due to a shared genetic basis, has not been tested in wild animals. We applied quantitative genetic "animal models" to longitudinal telomere measurements collected over a 10-year period from individuals of a wild seabird (common tern; Sterna hirundo) with known pedigree. We found no variation in telomere shortening with age among individuals at the phenotypic and genetic level, and only a small permanent environmental effect on adult telomere length. Instead, we found telomere length to be highly heritable and strongly positively genetically correlated with lifespan. Such heritable differences between individuals that are set at conception may present a hitherto underappreciated component of variation in somatic state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oscar Vedder
- Institute of Avian Research, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Maria Moiron
- Institute of Avian Research, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.,CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Christina Bauch
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
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5
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Reichard M, Giannetti K, Ferreira T, Maouche A, Vrtílek M, Polačik M, Blažek R, Ferreira MG. Lifespan and telomere length variation across populations of wild-derived African killifish. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:5979-5992. [PMID: 34826177 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Telomeres and telomerase prevent the continuous erosion of chromosome-ends caused by lifelong cell division. Shortened telomeres are associated with age-related pathologies. While short telomere length is positively correlated with increased lethality at the individual level, in comparisons across species short telomeres are associated with long (and not short) lifespans. Here, we tested this contradiction between individual and evolutionary patterns in telomere length using African annual killifish. We analysed lifespan and telomere length in a set of captive strains derived from well-defined wild populations of Nothobranchius furzeri and its sister species, N. kadleci, from sites along a strong gradient of aridity which ultimately determines maximum natural lifespan. Overall, males were shorter-lived than females, and also had shorter telomeres. Male lifespan (measured in controlled laboratory conditions) was positively associated with the amount of annual rainfall in the site of strain origin. However, fish from wetter climates had shorter telomeres. In addition, individual fish which grew largest over the juvenile period possessed shorter telomeres at the onset of adulthood. This demonstrates that individual condition and environmentally-driven selection indeed modulate the relationship between telomere length and lifespan in opposite directions, validating the existence of inverse trends within a single taxon. Intraindividual heterogeneity of telomere length (capable to detect very short telomeres) was not associated with mean telomere length, suggesting that the shortest telomeres are controlled by regulatory pathways other than those that determine mean telomere length. The substantial variation in telomere length between strains from different environments identifies killifish as a powerful system in understanding the adaptive value of telomere length.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Reichard
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Brno, Czech Republic.,Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.,Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - Ahmed Maouche
- Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging of Nice (IRCAN), UMR7284 U1081 Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
| | - Milan Vrtílek
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Matej Polačik
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radim Blažek
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Miguel Godinho Ferreira
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.,Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging of Nice (IRCAN), UMR7284 U1081 Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
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6
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Ravindran S, Froy H, Underwood SL, Dorrens J, Seeker LA, Watt K, Wilbourn RV, Pilkington JG, Harrington L, Pemberton JM, Nussey DH. The association between female reproductive performance and leukocyte telomere length in wild Soay sheep. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6184-6196. [PMID: 34514660 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Telomere length (TL), typically measured across a sample of blood cells, has emerged as an exciting potential marker of physiological state and of the costs of investment in growth and reproduction within evolutionary ecology. While there is mounting evidence from studies of wild vertebrates that short TL predicts raised subsequent mortality risk, the relationship between reproductive investment and TL is less clear cut, and previous studies report both negative and positive associations. In this study, we examined the relationship between TL and different aspects of maternal reproductive performance in a free-living population of Soay sheep. We find evidence for shorter TL in females that bred, and thus paid any costs of gestation, compared to females that did not breed. However, we found no evidence for any association between TL and litter size. Furthermore, females that invested in gestation and lactation actually had longer TL than females who only invested in gestation because their offspring died shortly after birth. We used multivariate models to decompose these associations into among- and within-individual effects, and discovered that within-individual effects were driving both the negative association between TL and gestation, and the positive association between TL and lactation. This suggests that telomere dynamics may reflect recent physiologically costly investment or variation in physiological condition, depending on the aspect of reproduction being investigated. Our results highlight the physiological complexity of vertebrate reproduction, and the need to better understand how and why different aspects of physiological variation underpinning life histories impact blood cell TL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjana Ravindran
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Hannah Froy
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Institute for Biology, Norwegian University for Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Sarah L Underwood
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jennifer Dorrens
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Luise A Seeker
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Kathryn Watt
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Rachael V Wilbourn
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jill G Pilkington
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Lea Harrington
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Josephine M Pemberton
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Daniel H Nussey
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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7
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Atema E, van Noordwijk AJ, Verhulst S. Telomere dynamics in relation to experimentally increased locomotion costs and fitness in great tits. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6208-6215. [PMID: 34478576 PMCID: PMC9786264 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Evidence that telomere length (TL) and dynamics can be interpreted as proxy for 'life stress' experienced by individuals stems largely from correlational studies. We tested for effects of an experimental increase of workload on telomere dynamics by equipping male great tits (Parus major) with a 0.9 g backpack for a full year. In addition, we analysed associations between natural life-history variation, TL and TL dynamics. Carrying 5% extra weight for a year did not significantly accelerate telomere attrition. This agrees with our earlier finding that this experiment did not affect survival or future reproduction. Apparently, great tit males were able to compensate behaviourally or physiologically for the increase in locomotion costs we imposed. We found no cross-sectional association between reproductive success and TL, but individuals with higher reproductive success (number of recruits) lost fewer telomere base pairs in the subsequent year. We used the TRF method to measure TL, which method yields a TL distribution for each sample, and the association between reproductive success and telomere loss was more pronounced in the higher percentiles of the telomere distribution, in agreement with the higher impact of ageing on longer telomeres within individuals. Individuals with longer telomeres and less telomere shortening were more likely to survive to the next breeding season, but these patterns did not reach statistical significance. Whether successful individuals are characterized by losing fewer or more base pairs from their telomeres varies between species, and we discuss aspects of ecology and social organisation that may explain this variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Els Atema
- GELIFESUniversity of GroningenGroningenthe Netherlands,Netherlands Institute of EcologyWageningenthe Netherlands
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8
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Kärkkäinen T, Laaksonen T, Burgess M, Cantarero A, Martínez‐Padilla J, Potti J, Moreno J, Thomson RL, Tilgar V, Stier A. Population differences in the length and early-life dynamics of telomeres among European pied flycatchers. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:5966-5978. [PMID: 34875134 PMCID: PMC9788103 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Telomere length and shortening rate are increasingly being used as biomarkers for long-term costs in ecological and evolutionary studies because of their relationships with survival and fitness. Both early-life conditions and growth, and later-life stressors can create variation in telomere shortening rate. Studies on between-population telomere length and dynamics are scarce, despite the expectation that populations exposed to varying environmental constraints would present divergent telomere length patterns. The pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) is a passerine bird breeding across Eurasia (from Spain to western Siberia) and migrating through the Iberian Peninsula to spend the nonbreeding period in sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, different populations show marked differences in migration distance. We studied the large-scale variation of telomere length and early-life dynamics in the pied flycatcher by comparing six European populations across a north-south gradient (Finland, Estonia, England and Spain) predicting a negative effect of migration distance on adult telomere length, and of nestling growth on nestling telomere dynamics. There were clear population differences in telomere length, with English birds from midlatitudes having the longest telomeres. Telomere length did not thus show consistent latitudinal variation and was not linearly linked to differences in migration distance. Early-life telomere shortening rate tended to vary between populations. Fast growth was associated with shorter telomeres in the early life, but faster nestling growth affected telomeres more negatively in northern than southern populations. While the sources of between-population differences in telomere-related biology remain to be more intensively studied, our study illustrates the need to expand telomere studies at the between-population level.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Malcolm Burgess
- RSPB Centre for Conservation ScienceSandyUK,Centre for Research in Animal BehaviourUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Alejandro Cantarero
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland,Department of Evolutionary EcologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC)MadridSpain
| | - Jesús Martínez‐Padilla
- Department of Biological Conservation and Ecosystem RestorationPyrenean Institute of Ecology (CSIC)JacaSpain
| | - Jaime Potti
- Department of Evolutionary EcologyEstación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)SevilleSpain
| | - Juan Moreno
- Department of Evolutionary EcologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC)MadridSpain
| | - Robert L. Thomson
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland,Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Cape TownRondeboschSouth Africa,FitzPatrick Institute of African OrnithologyDST‐NRF Centre of ExcellenceUniversity of Cape TownRondeboschSouth Africa
| | - Vallo Tilgar
- Department of ZoologyInstitute of Ecology and Earth SciencesUniversity of TartuTartuEstonia
| | - Antoine Stier
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland,Univ LyonUniversité Claude Bernard Lyon 1CNRSENTPEUMR 5023 LEHNAVilleurbanneFrance
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9
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Bauch C, Boonekamp JJ, Korsten P, Mulder E, Verhulst S. High heritability of telomere length and low heritability of telomere shortening in wild birds. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6308-6323. [PMID: 34532917 PMCID: PMC9787985 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Telomere length and telomere shortening predict survival in many organisms. This raises the question of the contribution of genetic and environmental effects to variation in these traits, which is still poorly known, particularly for telomere shortening. We used experimental (cross-fostering) and statistical (quantitative genetic "animal models") means to disentangle and estimate genetic and environmental contributions to telomere length variation in pedigreed free-living jackdaws (Corvus monedula). Telomere length was measured twice in nestlings, at ages 4 (n = 715) and 29 days (n = 474), using telomere restriction fragment (TRF) analysis, adapted to exclude interstitial telomeric sequences. Telomere length shortened significantly over the nestling period (10.4 ± 0.3 bp day-1 ) and was highly phenotypically (rP = 0.95 ± 0.01) and genetically (rG > 0.99 ± 0.01) correlated within individuals. Additive genetic effects explained a major part of telomere length variation among individuals, with its heritability estimated at h2 = 0.74 on average. We note that TRF-based studies reported higher heritabilities than qPCR-based studies, and we discuss possible explanations. Parent-offspring regressions yielded similar heritability estimates for mothers and fathers when accounting for changes in paternal telomere length over life. Year effects explained a small but significant part of telomere length variation. Heritable variation for telomere shortening was low (h2 = 0.09 ± 0.11). The difference in heritability between telomere length (high) and telomere shortening (low) agrees with evolutionary theory, in that telomere shortening has stronger fitness consequences in this population. Despite the high heritability of telomere length, its evolvability, which scales the additive genetic variance by mean telomere length, was on average 0.48%. Hence, evolutionary change of telomere length due to selection is likely to be slow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Bauch
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Jelle J. Boonekamp
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands,Present address:
Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health & Comparative MedicineCollege of Medical, Veterinary and Life SciencesUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Peter Korsten
- Department of Animal BehaviourBielefeld UniversityBielefeldGermany
| | - Ellis Mulder
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
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10
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Remot F, Ronget V, Froy H, Rey B, Gaillard JM, Nussey DH, Lemaitre JF. Decline in telomere length with increasing age across nonhuman vertebrates: A meta-analysis. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:5917-5932. [PMID: 34437736 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The prediction that telomere length (TL) shortens with increasing age is a major element in considering the role of telomeres as a key player in evolution. While telomere attrition is found in humans both in vitro and in vivo, the increasing number of studies reporting diverse age-specific patterns of TL challenges the hypothesis of a universal decline of TL with increasing age. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to estimate the relationship between TL and age across 175 estimates encompassing 98 species of vertebrates. We found that, on average, TL does decline with increasing age during adulthood. However, this decline was weak and variable across vertebrate classes, and we also found evidence for a publication bias that might weaken our current evidence of decreasing TL with increasing age. We found no evidence for a faster decline in TL with increasing age when considering the juvenile stage (from birth to age at first reproduction) compared to the adult stage. Heterogeneity in TL ageing rates was explained by the method used to measure telomeres: detectable TL declines with increasing age were found only among studies using TRF with in-gel hybridisation and qFISH methods, but not in studies using qPCR and Southern blot-based TRF methods. While we confirmed that TL declines with increasing age in most adult vertebrates, our results identify an influence of telomere measurement methodology, which highlights the need to examine more thoroughly the effect of the method of measurement on TL estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florentin Remot
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR5558, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Victor Ronget
- Unité Eco-anthropologie (EA), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France
| | - Hannah Froy
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Benjamin Rey
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR5558, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Jean-Michel Gaillard
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR5558, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Daniel H Nussey
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jean-François Lemaitre
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR5558, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
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11
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Chik HYJ, Sparks AM, Schroeder J, Dugdale HL. A meta-analysis on the heritability of vertebrate telomere length. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:1283-1295. [PMID: 35932478 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 07/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Telomere dynamics are linked with both cellular and organismal senescence, and life history, individual quality and health. Telomere dynamics, particularly telomere length, have therefore garnered much research interest in evolutionary biology. To examine the evolution of telomere length, it is important to quantify its heritability, the proportion of total variation explained by additive genetic effects. Many studies have quantified telomere length heritability, but estimates are varied, and no general conclusion has been drawn. Additionally, it is unclear whether biological and methodological factors influence telomere length heritability estimates. We present the first meta-analysis of telomere length heritability, using 104 estimates from 43 studies over 18 vertebrate species. We calculated an overall mean heritability and examined how estimates varied by study, phylogeny, species-specific ecology, environmental setting, age at sampling, laboratory methods, statistical methods, sex and repeated measurements. Overall heritability was moderate (44.9%, 95% CI: 25.2-64.7%), and there was considerable heterogeneity in heritability estimates, in particular among studies and estimates. Laboratory method influenced heritability estimates, with in-gel hybridization TRF yielding higher heritabilities than qPCR and Southern blot TRF. There was also an effect from statistical method, with twin-based and SNP-based estimates lower than correlation-based or pedigree-based estimates. Our results highlight an overall heritable basis of telomere length, and we recommend future research on a wider range of taxa, and the use of variance-partitioning methods with relatedness or SNP data over correlation methods to minimize heritability estimation bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heung Ying Janet Chik
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.,School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Alexandra M Sparks
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.,School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Julia Schroeder
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park, Ascot, UK
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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12
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Bauch C, Gatt MC, Verhulst S, Granadeiro JP, Catry P. Higher mercury contamination is associated with shorter telomeres in a long-lived seabird - A direct effect or a consequence of among-individual variation in phenotypic quality? THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 839:156359. [PMID: 35654175 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Mercury is a heavy metal, which is pervasive and persistent in the marine environment. It bioaccumulates within organisms and biomagnifies in the marine food chain. Due to its high toxicity, mercury contamination is a major concern for wildlife and human health. Telomere length is a biomarker of aging and health, because it predicts survival, making it a potential tool to investigate sublethal effects of mercury contamination. However, the relationship between telomeres and mercury contamination is unclear. We measured feather mercury concentration in Cory's Shearwaters Calonectris borealis, long-lived seabirds and top predators, between 9 and 35 years of age and related it to telomere length in erythrocytes. Cory's Shearwaters with higher mercury concentrations had shorter telomeres and the effect was sex-dependent, reaching significance in males only. This may be explained by the fact that males have longer telomeres and higher and more variable mercury concentrations than females in this population. The mercury effect on telomere length was stronger on longer telomeres in the genome within individuals. We discuss the hypotheses that the negative correlation could either be a direct effect of mercury on telomere shortening and/or a consequence of variation in phenotypic quality among individuals that results in a covariation between mercury contamination and telomere length.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Bauch
- MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041 Lisbon, Portugal; Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747AG Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Marie Claire Gatt
- CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747AG Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - José Pedro Granadeiro
- CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Paulo Catry
- MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041 Lisbon, Portugal
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13
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Tissier ML, Bergeron P, Garant D, Zahn S, Criscuolo F, Réale D. Telomere length positively correlates with pace-of-life in a sex- and cohort-specific way and elongates with age in a wild mammal. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:3812-3826. [PMID: 35575903 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Understanding ageing and the diversity of life histories is a cornerstone in biology. Telomeres, the protecting caps of chromosomes, are thought to be involved in ageing, cancer risks and life-history strategies. They shorten with cell division and age in somatic tissues of most species, possibly limiting lifespan. The resource allocation trade-off hypothesis predicts that short telomeres have thus co-evolved with early reproduction, proactive behaviour and reduced lifespan, i.e. a fast Pace-of-Life Syndrome (POLS). Conversely, since short telomeres may also reduce the risks of cancer, the anti-cancer hypothesis advances that they should be associated with slow POLS. Conclusion on which hypothesis best supports the role of telomeres as mediators of life-history strategies is hampered by a lack of study on wild short-lived vertebrates, apart from birds. Using seven years of data on wild Eastern chipmunks Tamias striatus, we highlighted that telomeres elongate with age (n = 204 and n = 20) and do not limit lifespan in this species (n = 51). Furthermore, short telomeres correlated with a slow POLS in a sex-specific way (n = 37). Females with short telomeres had a delayed age at first breeding and a lower fecundity rate than females with long telomeres, while we found no differences in males. Our findings support most predictions adapted from the anti-cancer hypothesis, but none of those from the resource allocation trade-off hypothesis. Results are in line with an increasing body of evidence suggesting that other evolutionary forces than resource allocation trade-offs shape the diversity of telomere length in adult somatic cells and the relationships between telomere length and life-histories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde L Tissier
- Biological Sciences, Bishop's University, 2600 Rue College, Québec, Canada.,Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Patrick Bergeron
- Biological Sciences, Bishop's University, 2600 Rue College, Québec, Canada
| | - Dany Garant
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
| | - Sandrine Zahn
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, Strasbourg, France
| | | | - Denis Réale
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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14
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Heidinger BJ, Kucera AC, Kittilson JD, Westneat DF. Longer telomeres during early life predict higher lifetime reproductive success in females but not males. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210560. [PMID: 34034512 PMCID: PMC8150037 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms that contribute to variation in lifetime reproductive success are not well understood. One possibility is that telomeres, conserved DNA sequences at chromosome ends that often shorten with age and stress exposures, may reflect differences in vital processes or influence fitness. Telomere length often predicts longevity, but longevity is only one component of fitness and little is known about how lifetime reproductive success is related to telomere dynamics in wild populations. We examined the relationships between telomere length beginning in early life, telomere loss into adulthood and lifetime reproductive success in free-living house sparrows (Passer domesticus). We found that females, but not males, with longer telomeres during early life had higher lifetime reproductive success, owing to associations with longevity and not reproduction per year or attempt. Telomeres decreased with age in both sexes, but telomere loss was not associated with lifetime reproductive success. In this species, telomeres may reflect differences in quality or condition rather than the pace of life, but only in females. Sexually discordant selection on telomeres is expected to influence the stability and maintenance of within population variation in telomere dynamics and suggests that any role telomeres play in mediating life-history trade-offs may be sex specific.
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Affiliation(s)
- Britt J. Heidinger
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA
| | - Aurelia C. Kucera
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA
| | - Jeff D. Kittilson
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA
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15
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The Power of Stress: The Telo-Hormesis Hypothesis. Cells 2021; 10:cells10051156. [PMID: 34064566 PMCID: PMC8151059 DOI: 10.3390/cells10051156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Adaptative response to stress is a strategy conserved across evolution to promote survival. In this context, the groundbreaking findings of Miroslav Radman on the adaptative value of changing mutation rates opened new avenues in our understanding of stress response. Inspired by this work, we explore here the putative beneficial effects of changing the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, the telomeres, in response to stress. We first summarize basic principles in telomere biology and then describe how various types of stress can alter telomere structure and functions. Finally, we discuss the hypothesis of stress-induced telomere signaling with hormetic effects.
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16
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Power ML, Power S, Bertelsen MF, Jones G, Teeling EC. Wing: A suitable nonlethal tissue type for repeatable and rapid telomere length estimates in bats. Mol Ecol Resour 2020; 21:421-432. [PMID: 33049101 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Revised: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
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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Affiliation(s)
- Megan L Power
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Science Centre West, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Sarahjane Power
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Science Centre West, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Mads F Bertelsen
- Center for Zoo and Wild Animal Health, Copenhagen Zoo, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Gareth Jones
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Emma C Teeling
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Science Centre West, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
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17
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Gatt MC, Versteegh M, Bauch C, Tieleman BI, Granadeiro JP, Catry P. Costs of reproduction and migration are paid in later return to the colony, not in physical condition, in a long-lived seabird. Oecologia 2020; 195:287-297. [PMID: 33040163 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04775-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Life history theory suggests a trade-off between costly activities such as breeding and migration and somatic self-maintenance. However, how the short-term cost of parental effort is expressed in species with a slow pace-of-life is not well understood. Also, investigating carry-over effects of migration is most meaningful when comparing migratory strategies within the same population, but this has rarely been done. We explore this hypothesis in a long-lived, pelagic seabird, the Cory's Shearwater, Calonectris borealis, where males display partial migration. By manipulating reproductive effort and taking advantage of the natural variation in migratory strategy, we investigate whether early reproductive failure and migratory strategy had implications on the physical condition of males on return to the colony the following year. We experimentally induced breeding failure from mid-incubation, tracked the over-winter movements of these males and of males that invested in parental effort, and assessed innate immunity, stress, and residual body mass the following year. Early breeding failure resulted in earlier return to the colony among all males, associated with greater probability of reproductive success. Residents had a lower tail feather fault bar intensity, an indicator of stress during the non-breeding period, compared to migrants. Reproductive effort and migratory strategy had no impact on physiological condition otherwise. Our results provide evidence that in species with a slow-pace of life, such as the Cory's Shearwater, somatic maintenance is prioritised, with the costs of reproduction and migration paid in delayed arrival date.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Claire Gatt
- Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar (CESAM), Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016, Lisboa, Portugal.
| | - Maaike Versteegh
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Christina Bauch
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - B Irene Tieleman
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - José Pedro Granadeiro
- Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar (CESAM), Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Paulo Catry
- Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (MARE), ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal
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18
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Bauch C, Gatt MC, Granadeiro JP, Verhulst S, Catry P. Sex-specific telomere length and dynamics in relation to age and reproductive success in Cory's shearwaters. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:1344-1357. [PMID: 32141666 PMCID: PMC7216837 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Revised: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Individuals in free‐living animal populations generally differ substantially in reproductive success, lifespan and other fitness‐related traits, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this variation are poorly understood. Telomere length and dynamics are candidate traits explaining this variation, as long telomeres predict a higher survival probability and telomere loss has been shown to reflect experienced “life stress.” However, telomere dynamics among very long‐lived species are unresolved. Additionally, it is generally not well understood how telomeres relate to reproductive success or sex. We measured telomere length and dynamics in erythrocytes to assess their relationship to age, sex and reproduction in Cory's shearwaters (Calonectris borealis), a long‐lived seabird, in the context of a long‐term study. Adult males had on average 231 bp longer telomeres than females, independent of age. In females, telomere length changed relatively little with age, whereas male telomere length declined significantly. Telomere shortening within males from one year to the next was three times higher than the interannual shortening rate based on cross‐sectional data of males. Past long‐term reproductive success was sex‐specifically reflected in age‐corrected telomere length: males with on average high fledgling production were characterized by shorter telomeres, whereas successful females had longer telomeres, and we discuss hypotheses that may explain this contrast. In conclusion, telomere length and dynamics in relation to age and reproduction are sex‐dependent in Cory's shearwaters and these findings contribute to our understanding of what characterises individual variation in fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Bauch
- MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal.,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marie Claire Gatt
- CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - José Pedro Granadeiro
- CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Paulo Catry
- MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
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