Maternal and genetic factors determine early life telomere length
Maternal and genetic factors determine early life telomere length
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DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2014.2263
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发表时间：
2015-01-22
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Hasselquist, Dennis
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Asghar, Muhammad;Bensch, Staffan;Hasselquist, Dennis
在包括人类在内的许多物种中，已经证明端粒长度在整个生命过程中都会下降，它可能参与了细胞和生物的衰老。这种与衰老和健康的潜在联系最近引发了人们对了解端粒长度变异是如何遗传和保持的兴趣。然而，以前的研究存在两个主要缺陷，这限制了人们了解遗传、亲本和环境对端粒长度变异的相对重要性的可能性。这些研究基于(I)不同个体在不同时间点测量的端粒长度，尽管端粒长度随着寿命的变化而变化，以及(Ii)亲子回归技术，该技术不能区分遗传和亲本遗传成分。为了克服这些缺点，在我们对一种鸣禽--芦苇鸣禽的研究中，我们分析了父母和后代在生命早期测量的端粒长度，并应用了基于长期系谱数据的统计模型(所谓的动物模型)。我们的结果表明，端粒长度的遗传力在母亲一侧显著，而在父亲一侧不显著，母亲的年龄与其后代的端粒长度呈正相关。此外，基于系谱的分析显示了显著的遗传力和同样大的母系效应。我们的研究表明母体对端粒长度有很强的影响，未来的研究需要阐明可能的潜在因素，包括哪些类型的母体效应参与其中。
In a broad range of species-including humans-it has been demonstrated that telomere length declines throughout life and that it may be involved in cell and organismal senescence. This potential link to ageing and thus to fitness has triggered recent interest in understanding how variation in telomere length is inherited and maintained. However, previous studies suffer from two main drawbacks that limit the possibility of understanding the relative importance of genetic, parental and environmental influences on telomere length variation. These studies have been based on (i) telomere lengths measured at different time points in different individuals, despite the fact that telomere length changes over life, and (ii) parent-offspring regression techniques, which do not enable differentiation between genetic and parental components of inheritance. To overcome these drawbacks, in our study of a songbird, the great reed warbler, we have analysed telomere length measured early in life in both parents and offspring and applied statistical models (so-called 'animal models') that are based on long-term pedigree data. Our results showed a significant heritability of telomere length on the maternal but not on the paternal side, and that the mother's age was positively correlated with their offspring's telomere length. Furthermore, the pedigree-based analyses revealed a significant heritability and an equally large maternal effect. Our study demonstrates strong maternal influence on telomere length and future studies now need to elucidate possible underlying factors, including which types of maternal effects are involved.