Telomere length reflects reproductive effort indicated by corticosterone levels in a long-lived seabird
Telomere length reflects reproductive effort indicated by corticosterone levels in a long-lived seabird
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DOI：
10.1111/mec.13874
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发表时间：
2016-11-01
影响因子：
4.9
通讯作者：
Becker, Peter H.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bauch, Christina;Riechert, Juliane;Becker, Peter H.
端粒长度 (TL) 是衰老和表型质量的候选生物标志物，但人们对 TL 变异的（生理）原因知之甚少。我们之前表明，具有高繁殖成功率的普通燕鸥个体具有与年龄无关的短端粒，并且这种模式在个体内 TL 分布的较长端粒中尤其明显。为了测试这种关系是否可以归因于繁殖努力的影响，我们研究了基线皮质酮与繁殖成功率（雏鸟数量）和 TL 的关系。在这种情况下，我们假设基线皮质酮的变化可以解释为能量消耗和稳态负荷的指数。与个体之间和个体内部相比，孵化期间皮质酮水平较高的雄性获得了更高的繁殖成功率，并且端粒更短。在孵化后期测量的皮质酮和个体内 TL 分布的较长端粒中，对端粒的影响更为明显。孵化期间雌性皮质酮水平与繁殖成功率和 TL 均无关。我们仅在雄性身上观察到这些影响，这反映了普通燕鸥在繁殖过程中不同的父母角色，其中雄性负责为雏鸟提供大部分食物。生殖成功与 TL 之间的负相关表明生殖努力的个体差异，这反映在基线皮质酮中或由基线皮质酮介导。我们认为这一结果是朝着阐明 TL 变异的生理原因和繁殖成本迈出的有希望的一步。
Telomere length (TL) is a candidate biomarker of ageing and phenotypic quality, but little is known of the (physiological) causes of TL variation. We previously showed that individual common terns Sterna hirundo with high reproductive success had short telomeres independent of age, and this pattern was particularly strong in the longer telomeres of the within-individual TL distribution. To test whether this relation can be attributed to effects of reproductive effort, we investigated baseline corticosterone in relation to reproductive success (number of fledglings) and TL. In this context, we assume that variation in baseline corticosterone can be interpreted as index of energy expenditure and allostatic load. Males with higher corticosterone levels during incubation, compared between and within individuals, achieved higher reproductive success and had shorter telomeres. The effect on telomeres was more pronounced in corticosterone measured later in incubation and in the longer telomeres of the within-individual TL distribution. Female corticosterone level during incubation was neither related to reproductive success nor to TL. That we observed these effects only in males mirrors different parental roles during reproduction in the common tern, where males do most of the chick provisioning. The negative association between reproductive success and TL suggests individual differences in reproductive effort as reflected in, or mediated by, baseline corticosterone. We see this result as a promising step towards unravelling the physiological causes of variation in TL and the costs of reproduction.