The relationship of telomere length to baseline corticosterone levels in nestlings of an altricial passerine bird in natural populations
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Archivos
Fecha
2015-10
Profesor/a Guía
Facultad/escuela
Idioma
en
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
BIOMED CENTRAL
Nombre de Curso
Licencia CC
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Licencia CC
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Resumen
Background: Environmental stressors increase the secretion of glucocorticoids that in turn can shorten telomeres via oxidative damage. Modification of telomere length, as a result of adversity faced early in life, can modify an individual's phenotype. Studies in captivity have suggested a relationship between glucocorticoids and telomere length in developing individuals, however less is known about that relationship in natural populations.
Methods: In order to evaluate the effect of early environmental stressors on telomere length in natural populations, we compared baseline corticosterone (CORT) levels and telomere length in nestlings of the same age. We collected blood samples for hormone assay and telomere determination from two geographically distinct populations of the Thorn-tailed Rayadito (Aphrastura spinicauda) that differed in brood size; nestlings body mass and primary productivity. Within each population we used path analysis to evaluate the relationship between brood size, body mass, baseline CORT and telomere length.
Results: Within each distinct population, path coefficients showed a positive relationship between brood size and baseline CORT and a strong and negative correlation between baseline CORT and telomere length. In general, nestlings that presented higher baseline CORT levels tended to present shorter telomeres. When comparing populations it was the low latitude population that presented higher levels of baseline CORT and shorter telomere length.
Conclusions: Taken together our results reveal the importance of the condition experienced early in life in affecting telomere length, and the relevance of integrative studies carried out in natural conditions.
Notas
Indexación: Web of Science; Scopus.
Palabras clave
Brood size, Latitudinal gradient, qPCR, Thorn-tailed rayadito
Citación
Frontiers in Zoology. Volume 13, Issue 1, January 12, 2016, Article number 1