Novel epigenetic age estimation in wild-caught Gulf of Mexico reef fishes

Cutting-edge DNA methylation-based epigenetic aging techniques were applied to Gulf of Mexico northern red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus; n = 10; 1–26 years old) and grouper (Epinephelus morio; 2–14 old). Bisulfite-converted restriction site-associated sequencing was used identify CpG sites (cytosines followed by guanines) that exhibit age-correlated methylation, species-specific clocks developed from hundreds in each species showed strong agreement between predicted otolith-derived age (r 2 > 0.99 for both species). Results suggest estimation could provide an accurate efficient approach mass-aging fishes a non-invasive manner.