Epigenetic estimation of age in humpback whales
Age is a fundamental aspect of animal ecology, but is difficult to determine in many species. Humpback whales exemplify this as they have a lifespan comparable to humans, mature sexually as early as 4 years and have no reliable visual age indicators after their first year. Current methods for estima...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72939 |
| _version_ | 1848762881826357248 |
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| author | Polanowski, A. Robbins, J. Chandler, D. Jarman, Simon |
| author_facet | Polanowski, A. Robbins, J. Chandler, D. Jarman, Simon |
| author_sort | Polanowski, A. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Age is a fundamental aspect of animal ecology, but is difficult to determine in many species. Humpback whales exemplify this as they have a lifespan comparable to humans, mature sexually as early as 4 years and have no reliable visual age indicators after their first year. Current methods for estimating humpback age cannot be applied to all individuals and populations. Assays for human age have recently been developed based on age-induced changes in DNA methylation of specific genes. We used information on age-associated DNA methylation in human and mouse genes to identify homologous gene regions in humpbacks. Humpback skin samples were obtained from individuals with a known year of birth and employed to calibrate relationships between cytosine methylation and age. Seven of 37 cytosines assayed for methylation level in humpback skin had significant age-related profiles. The three most age-informative cytosine markers were selected for a humpback epigenetic age assay. The assay has an R2of 0.787 (P = 3.04e-16) and predicts age from skin samples with a standard deviation of 2.991 years. The epigenetic method correctly determined which of parent-offspring pairs is the parent in more than 93% of cases. To demonstrate the potential of this technique, we constructed the first modern age profile of humpback whales off eastern Australia and compared the results to population structure 5 decades earlier. This is the first epigenetic age estimation method for a wild animal species and the approach we took for developing it can be applied to many other nonmodel organisms. © 2014 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Resources Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:54:37Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-72939 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:54:37Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Wiley-Blackwell |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-729392018-12-13T09:32:38Z Epigenetic estimation of age in humpback whales Polanowski, A. Robbins, J. Chandler, D. Jarman, Simon Age is a fundamental aspect of animal ecology, but is difficult to determine in many species. Humpback whales exemplify this as they have a lifespan comparable to humans, mature sexually as early as 4 years and have no reliable visual age indicators after their first year. Current methods for estimating humpback age cannot be applied to all individuals and populations. Assays for human age have recently been developed based on age-induced changes in DNA methylation of specific genes. We used information on age-associated DNA methylation in human and mouse genes to identify homologous gene regions in humpbacks. Humpback skin samples were obtained from individuals with a known year of birth and employed to calibrate relationships between cytosine methylation and age. Seven of 37 cytosines assayed for methylation level in humpback skin had significant age-related profiles. The three most age-informative cytosine markers were selected for a humpback epigenetic age assay. The assay has an R2of 0.787 (P = 3.04e-16) and predicts age from skin samples with a standard deviation of 2.991 years. The epigenetic method correctly determined which of parent-offspring pairs is the parent in more than 93% of cases. To demonstrate the potential of this technique, we constructed the first modern age profile of humpback whales off eastern Australia and compared the results to population structure 5 decades earlier. This is the first epigenetic age estimation method for a wild animal species and the approach we took for developing it can be applied to many other nonmodel organisms. © 2014 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Resources Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72939 10.1111/1755-0998.12247 Wiley-Blackwell restricted |
| spellingShingle | Polanowski, A. Robbins, J. Chandler, D. Jarman, Simon Epigenetic estimation of age in humpback whales |
| title | Epigenetic estimation of age in humpback whales |
| title_full | Epigenetic estimation of age in humpback whales |
| title_fullStr | Epigenetic estimation of age in humpback whales |
| title_full_unstemmed | Epigenetic estimation of age in humpback whales |
| title_short | Epigenetic estimation of age in humpback whales |
| title_sort | epigenetic estimation of age in humpback whales |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72939 |