Measuring telomere length and telomere dynamics in evolutionary biology and ecology.
Measuring telomere length and telomere dynamics in evolutionary biology and ecology.
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DOI：
10.1111/2041-210x.12161
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发表时间：
2014-04
影响因子：
6.6
通讯作者：
Monaghan P
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Nussey DH;Baird D;Barrett E;Boner W;Fairlie J;Gemmell N;Hartmann N;Horn T;Haussmann M;Olsson M;Turbill C;Verhulst S;Zahn S;Monaghan P
端粒在保护染色体DNA和调节细胞衰老中起着重要作用。人类流行病学和进化生态学的最新研究表明，成年人端粒长度（TL）可能反映了过去的生理压力，并预测随后的发病率和死亡率，与实际年龄无关。已经开发了几种不同的方法来测量TL，每种方法都有自己的技术挑战。本综述的目的是为研究人员提供每种方法的优点和缺点的概述，特别关注生态学家和进化生物学家可能面临的问题，这些问题可能会在野外或在生物体中收集样本，这些生物体可能从未在这种情况下进行过研究。我们讨论了需要考虑的关键问题，并在可能的情况下尝试提供当前关于样本收集和储存，DNA提取和储存以及目前可用于测量TL的五种主要方法的最佳实践的共识。决定哪些组织采样，如何存储它们，如何提取DNA，以及使用哪种TL测量方法不能被规定，并且取决于所解决的生物学问题和研究系统施加的限制。对于进化和生态学中端粒动力学的未来研究至关重要的是，研究人员公布他们的方法和他们采用的质量控制阈值的全部细节。
Telomeres play a fundamental role in the protection of chromosomal DNA and in the regulation of cellular senescence. Recent work in human epidemiology and evolutionary ecology suggests adult telomere length (TL) may reflect past physiological stress and predict subsequent morbidity and mortality, independent of chronological age. Several different methods have been developed to measure TL, each offering its own technical challenges. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the advantages and drawbacks of each method for researchers, with a particular focus on issues that are likely to face ecologists and evolutionary biologists collecting samples in the field or in organisms that may never have been studied in this context before. We discuss the key issues to consider and wherever possible try to provide current consensus view regarding best practice with regard to sample collection and storage, DNA extraction and storage, and the five main methods currently available to measure TL. Decisions regarding which tissues to sample, how to store them, how to extract DNA, and which TL measurement method to use cannot be prescribed, and are dependent on the biological question addressed and the constraints imposed by the study system. What is essential for future studies of telomere dynamics in evolution and ecology is that researchers publish full details of their methods and the quality control thresholds they employ.