Table 2.
Comparative telomere biology in selected farm, laboratory and companion animals
| Taxonomic group | Speciesa | Nucleated erythrocytes | TL (kb)b | Telomerasec | Age‐related TAd | Key references |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primates | Human (Homo sapiens) | No | 8–20 | No | Yes (long) | See main text |
| Macaque monkeys (Macaca sp.) | No | 15–18 | No | Yes (cross) | 32, 74 | |
| Rodents | Mouse (Mus musculus) | No | 25–200 (laboratory) | Yes | 75, 76 | |
| 12–25 (wild derived) | ||||||
| Lagomorphs | Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) | No | 20–50 | No | 77 | |
| Carnivores | Domestic dog (Canis lupus) | No | 10–23 | No | Yes (cross) | 78, 79, 80 |
| Domestic cat (Felis catus) | No | 5–26 | No | Yes (cross) | 81 | |
| Cetartiodactyles | Cow (Bos taurus) | No | 18 | No | Yes (cross) | 82, 83 |
| Sheep (Ovis aries) | No | 9–23 | No | Yes (cross) | 84, 85 | |
| Pig (Sus scrofa domestica) | No | 10–30 | Unclear | Yes (cross) | 86, 87 | |
| Perissodactyles | Horse (Equus caballus) | No | 14 | No | Yes (cross) | 88, 89 |
| Donkey (Equus asinus) | No | 7–21 | No | Yes (cross) | 90 | |
| Birds | Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) | Yes | Yes (cross) | 91 | ||
| Chicken (Gallus gallus) | Yes | 0.5–4000 | No | Yes (cross) | 54, 92, 93 | |
| Zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) | Yes | 8–30 | No | Yes (long) | 94, 95, 96, 97 | |
| European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) | Yes | Yes (long) | 59, 60, 98 | |||
| Teleost fish | Salmon/trout (Oncorhynchus/Salmo) | Yes | 20 | Yes | No (long)e | 99, 100, 101, 102 |
| Zebra fish (Danio rerio) | Yes | 2–10 | Yes | 56 |
Blank cells indicate that I have not been able to find any relevant data.
I have selected a few species judged to be of particular welfare concern for this table. Data on many more species including some common zoo animals are available in the following reviews: 15, 52, 53, 103.
TL estimates come from a variety of methods and the ranges reported span values given in the papers reviewed.
This column records whether telomerase is expressed in adult somatic cells. For mammals (excluding cat and dog), data are taken from 15. For other species, data are taken from sources cited in the final column.
This column records whether age‐related TA has been documented from blood/tissue samples in vivo: ‘cross’ indicates a cross‐sectional study and ‘long’ a longitudinal study (the better method). Sources are cited in the final column.
This result is for wild‐type fish; age‐related TA was found in transgenic salmon with an artificially increased growth rate 99.