Rapid growth accelerates telomere attrition in a transgenic fish

Telomere Attrition Due to Infection

BACKGROUND Telomeres--the terminal caps of chromosomes--become shorter as individuals age, and there is much interest in determining what causes telomere attrition since this process may play a role in biological aging. The leading hypothesis is that telomere attrition is due to inflammation, exposure to infectious agents, and other types of oxidative stress, which damage telomeres and impair t...

Stressed ends: telomere attrition in chronic diseases☆

Telomeres are DNA–protein structures that cap chromosomal ends and protect them from degradation. In vertebrates, these sequences are composed of long stretches of TTAGGG repeats that can extend for up to 15 kilobases (kb) in humans and 100 kb in rodents. The telomeric DNA is composed of a long double-stranded tract that ends in a short, single-stranded overhang. Telomeric DNA is bound by shelt...

Telomere attrition as a biomarker in a welfare context?

Tilapia chromosomal growth hormone gene expression accelerates growth in transgenic zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Developmental telomere attrition predicts impulsive decision-making in adult starlings

Animals in a poor biological state face reduced life expectancy, and as a consequence should make decisions that prioritize immediate survival and reproduction over long-term benefits. We tested the prediction that if, as has been suggested, developmental telomere attrition is a biomarker of state and future life expectancy, then individuals who have undergone greater developmental telomere att...