Jove
Visualize
Contact Us

Related Experiment Videos

Telomeres and longevity: testing an evolutionary hypothesis.

Mark F Haussmann1, Robert A Mauck

  • 1Department of Biology, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio 43022, USA. haussmannm@kenyon.edu

Molecular Biology and Evolution
|December 12, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Plan ahead, or wing it? How storm-petrel parents adjust food delivery to young chicks.

Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology·2025
Same author

Intraspecific support for the climate variability hypothesis: oxidative damage in lizards after acute temperature exposure.

The Journal of experimental biology·2025
Same author

Telomere length as a biomarker for cumulative experience in broiler chickens.

PloS one·2025
Same author

Adult survival in a small seabird, <i>Hydrobates leucorhous,</i> covaries with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation over the past six decades.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2025
Same author

Corticosterone and Mitochondrial Efficiency Are Associated With Changes in DNA Oxidative Damage During an Acute Stress Response in Leach's Storm-Petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous).

Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology·2025
Same author

Leach's storm-petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous), a long-lived seabird shows flexible, condition-dependent, feeding strategies in response to poor chick condition.

BMC ecology and evolution·2024
Same journal

Evolution of CTCF binding sites in the human genome.

Molecular biology and evolution·2026
Same journal

Recent plastid replacement in Karlodinium ballantinum (Kareniaceae, Dinoflagellata) challenges the paradigms of endosymbiotic gene transfer.

Molecular biology and evolution·2026
Same journal

Segmentally Duplicated Regulatory Elements Undergo Human-Specific Rewiring.

Molecular biology and evolution·2026
Same journal

The life history of recessive deleterious alleles as seen through the eyes of a honey bee (Apis mellifera).

Molecular biology and evolution·2026
Same journal

Severe bottleneck of ancient Homo populations: Insights from computational modeling and relevant fossil evidence.

Molecular biology and evolution·2026
Same journal

Population Epigenetics: Deciphering DNA Methylation Diversity and its Implications for Health, Disease, and Evolution.

Molecular biology and evolution·2026
See all related articles
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

In Leach's storm petrels, telomere length variation at birth, not age-related shortening, may predict longevity. This challenges typical aging patterns, suggesting early life factors are key for long lifespans.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Gerontology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Telomeres, protective chromosome caps, generally shorten with age and are linked to longevity.
  • Previous studies in Leach's storm petrels showed an unusual age-related lengthening of telomeres.
  • Two hypotheses, 'elongation' and 'selection,' attempt to explain this phenomenon.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test mutually exclusive predictions of the elongation and selection hypotheses regarding telomere length variation in Leach's storm petrels.
  • To investigate the relationship between telomere length and age in a long-lived seabird population.

Main Methods:

  • Measured telomere length using the telomere restriction fragment assay.
  • Compared telomere lengths in hatchling and old adult storm petrels.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analyzed variation in telomere length between age groups.

    • Main Results:

    • Adult birds had longer telomeres than hatchlings on average.
    • Hatchlings exhibited greater variance in telomere length than older adults.
    • The oldest adults showed minimal accumulation of short telomeres, unlike other species.

    Conclusions:

    • Findings support the 'selection hypothesis,' suggesting longer-lived individuals have longer initial telomeres.
    • The lack of short telomere accumulation in old adults is a novel observation.
    • Telomere length variation at birth may be a significant predictor of longevity in storm petrels.