Table 1.
Cited literature and taxa. GH, growth hormone; TL, telomere length.
| reference | species | tissue(s) | method (telomere; telomerase if applicable) | telomere response and effect | telomerase? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adriaenssens et al. [26] | wild juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta) |
fin and muscle | TRF | individuals with shorter fin telomeres to behave consistently more boldly and aggressively under controlled conditions in the laboratory. No such relationship was found with muscle telomere length 3–4 months after the behavioural assays |
n.a. |
| Alibardi [27] | green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis) | regenerating tail, testis, intestine | immunofluorescence and ultrastructural immunolocalization | n.a. | detected telomerase activity in regenerating tail tissues, developing spermatozoa |
| Anchelin et al. [28] | zebrafish (Danio rerio) | larvae; muscle and testis in adults | telomerase-deficient fish versus wild-type | TL shorter and quicker attrition in telomerase-deficient zebrafish | p53 was induced by telomere attrition, leading to growth arrest and apoptosis. Importantly, genetic inhibition of p53 rescued the adverse effects of telomere loss, indicating that the molecular mechanisms induced by telomere shortening are conserved from fish to mammals |
| Ballen et al. [29] | painted dragon lizard (Ctenophorus pictus) | blood | telomere PNA Kit/FITC for flow cytometry | maternal telomere length predicted offspring telomere length. Female reproductive investment was positively associated with offspring telomere length but offspring telomere length was negatively related to mitochondrial superoxide levels | n.a. |
| Carneiro et al. [30] | zebrafish (Danio rerio) | gut; testes; muscle; | TRF | decline in telomere length with age much stronger in tert- (telomerase-deficient fish); gut and muscle both exhibited decline, testes less so; DNA damage markers also correspond to telomere loss across tissues | telomerase-deficient fish show greater declines in telomere length with age across tissues |
| Gao & Munch [31] | Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia) | pooled larval samples; muscle and brain tissue from adults | qPCR (melanocortin type 1 receptor (Mc1r) control gene) | no telomere decline with age; female fecundity was negatively correlated with telomere length and lifespan | n.a. |
| Giraudeau et al. [32] | painted dragon lizard (Ctenophorus pictus) | blood | qPCR (18s) | males that maintained colour suffered more telomere attrition | n.a. |
| Henriques et al. [33] | telomerase-deficient zebrafish (Danio rerio) | skin and fin | telomere repeat amplification (TRAP) assay | n.a. | yes using mutant lines |
| Joeng et al. [34] | nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans) | whole animals | TRF on transgenic lines that overexpress telomere binding protein (HRP-1) | worms with longer telomeres lived longer and were more resistant to heat stress | n.a. |
| Lund et al. [35] | zebrafish (Danio rerio) | heart, gills, kidney, spleen, liver, and intestine were evaluated at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 2 years of age | TRF; TRAP | telomeres did not shorten with age in any tissue | all tissues and ages expressed telomerase |
| McLennan et al. [36] | Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) |
fin | qPCR (GAPDH control gene) | faster growth associated faster telomere attrition if they were exposed to harsher environment (predator density in stream) | n.a. |
| Näslund et al. [37] | brown trout (Salmo trutta) | fin | qPCR (GAPDH) | no effect of compensatory growth on telomere length; body size early in life was negatively related to telomere length later in life | n.a. |
| Olsson et al. [38] | sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) | blood | TRF | positive relationship between telomere length and age in females; negative but not significant in males. Tail loss had a stronger negative effect on telomere length in males than females | n.a. |
| Olsson et al. [39] | sand lizard (L. agilis) | blood | TRF | paternal age at conception predicts telomere length in sons; sire–son TL heritability is higher than mother–daughter; longer telomeres enhance offspring survival | n.a. |
| Olsson et al. [40] | sand lizard (L. agilis) | blood | TRF | females have longer telomeres than males; females suffer lower rates of attrition than males; telomere length had a positive effect on offspring recruitment in females but not in males | n.a. |
| Pauliny et al. [41] | coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) | fin | qPCR (beta-actin) | WT had shorter telomeres on both sampling occasions; but GH-fish had greater attrition; regeneration increased TL in GH-fish but not in WT | n.a. |
| Plot et al. [42] | leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) | blood | qPCR (18s) | no difference in TL between hatchlings and adults; breeding frequency of females was associated with shorter TL | n.a. |
| Rollings et al. [43] | mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) | tail muscle | qPCR (GAPDH) | residual telomere length (TL | age in days) lowest in 20 < 30 < 20–30 = 30–20 | n.a. |
| Rollings et al. [44] | garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) | blood | pPCR (18s) | TL was unchanged with age in females; TL decreased with age in males; TL was positively correlated with body condition in both sexes but body condition decreased with male age but increased with female age | n.a. |
| Tan et al. [45] | planarian flatworm (Schmidtea mediterranea) | whole animal (cultured) | TRF | telomere length in sexual animals decreases with age; telomere length in asexual animals increases after both fission and regeneration induced by amputation | The difference between sexual and asexual worms in telomere maintenance in due to the expression and alternate splicing of the protein subunit of the telomerase enzyme |
| Ujvari et al. [24] | frill-neck lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii) | blood | qPCR (GAPDH); qPCR | TL increases with age until 4 years of age and then declines | positive relationship between TL and telomerase expression |
| Ujvari & Madsen [25] | Water python (Liasis fuscus) | blood | TRF | TL increased from hatching to 1 year of age and remained stable throughout life in males and females | n.a. |
| Walter et al. [46] | fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) | whole animal | strains with different telomere lengths | long telomeres associated with reduced fertility and fecundity | n.a. |
| Scott et al. [23] | alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) | blood | TRF | TL shorter in longer (and presumably older) animals | n.a. |
| Klapper et al. [47] | lobster (Homarus americanus) | hepatopancreas, heart, skin and muscle | TRAP | n.a. | telomerase expression in all tissues tested |
| Simide et al. [48] | Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) | fin and blood | qPCR (beta-actin) | decrease in TL with age and greater telomere attrition with heat stress | n.a. |
| Bronikowski [49] | garter snakes (Thamnophis elegans) | blood | TRF | decline in TL with age in males; females not studied nor were difference eco-morphs with different ageing trajectories | n.a. |
| Hatakeyama et al. [50] | medaka aka Japanese rice fish (Oryzias latipes) | embryo, whole body (1 day, 2, 3 6 months) liver, kidney, intestine, muscle, gonad, heart, brain, spleen, gill | TRF; TRAP | TL declines with age similarly among all tissues (except brain tissue) and is highly correlated between tissues. Telomere attrition was highest in developing stages | ubiquitous expression of telomerase across tissues |
| Gruber et al. [51] | marine clam (Arctica islandica) | gill, mantle, adductor muscle for all populations and foot, the heart, digestive gland in two populations |
TRF; TRAP | although TL was variable it was not correlated with age or tissue type | consistently high telomerase activity that was not correlated with age |
| Debes et al. [52] | brown trout (Salmo trutta) |
blood | qPCR(18s) | TL declines with increasing average summer temperature of the natal stream and with tail fork length (a proxy for body size) | n.a. |
| Nilsson et al. [53] | ascidian (Diplosoma listerianum) | zooids | telomere FISH; TRAP | telomeres were shorter in parents than sexually produced zooids | telomerase activity was lower in parents than sexually produced zooids |
| Schumpert et al. [54] | Daphnia pulex and D. pulicaria | whole animals | TRF and TRAP | TL is maintained throughout life in D. pulex (1–3 weeks) but declines in D. pulicaria (1–8 weeks) | telomerase activity is maintained in D. pulex but declines in D. pulicaria throughout life |
| Garcia-Cisneros et al. [55] | seastar (Coscinasterias tenuispina) | tube-foot | qPCR (no SC control gene ‘telomeric DNA measurements in the present study were performed relative to the total quantity of DNA in the samples’) | telomere length was longer in individuals from clonal populations and longer in regenerating arms than non-regenerating arms | n.a. |
| Korandova & Frydrychova [56] | honey bee (Apis mellifera) | embryos, brain, testes | TRF; TRAP | no difference in telomere lengths in any comparisons (tissue; hive; castes) | telomerase levels high in workers and drones at embryo stage; high in drone testes; high in brain and ovaries of queens |
| Bousman et al. [57] | African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) | skeletal muscle, heart brain, liver, lung, spleen, testis, embryo | TRAP | n.a. | telomerase was most highly expressed in testis, spleen liver and embryos; detectable in muscle and brain |