Shorter telomeres precede population extinction in wild lizards

Abstract Identifying the early warning signals of catastrophic extinctions has recently become a central focus for ecologists, but species’ functional responses to environmental changes remain an untapped source for the sharpening of such warning signals. Telomere length (TL) analysis represents a p...

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Autores principales:	Andréaz Dupoué, Alexis Rutschmann, Jean François Le Galliard, Jean Clobert, Frédéric Angelier, Coline Marciau, Stéphanie Ruault, Donald Miles, Sandrine Meylan
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/8c692cabf03649a2a6b5469aa5ffdaa0
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:8c692cabf03649a2a6b5469aa5ffdaa02021-12-02T15:05:36ZShorter telomeres precede population extinction in wild lizards10.1038/s41598-017-17323-z2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/8c692cabf03649a2a6b5469aa5ffdaa02017-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17323-zhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Identifying the early warning signals of catastrophic extinctions has recently become a central focus for ecologists, but species’ functional responses to environmental changes remain an untapped source for the sharpening of such warning signals. Telomere length (TL) analysis represents a promising molecular tool with which to raise the alarm regarding early population decline, since telomere attrition is associated with aging processes and accelerates after a recurrent exposure to environmental stressors. In the southern margin of their range, populations of the common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) recently became extinct at lowest elevations due to changes in climate conditions. However, the proximal signals involved in these demographic declines are still unknown. Here, we sampled 100 yearling lizards from 10 natural populations (n = 10 per population) along an extinction risk gradient. Relative lizard abundance dramatically dropped over 12 years in low-altitude populations characterized by warmer ambient temperatures and higher body growth of lizards early in life. A non-linear relationship was found between TL and population extinction risk, with shorter telomeres in populations facing high risk of extinction when compared to non-threatened ones. Our results identify TL as a promising biomarker and imply that population extinctions might be preceded by a loop of physiological aging.Andréaz DupouéAlexis RutschmannJean François Le GalliardJean ClobertFrédéric AngelierColine MarciauStéphanie RuaultDonald MilesSandrine MeylanNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Andréaz Dupoué Alexis Rutschmann Jean François Le Galliard Jean Clobert Frédéric Angelier Coline Marciau Stéphanie Ruault Donald Miles Sandrine Meylan Shorter telomeres precede population extinction in wild lizards
description	Abstract Identifying the early warning signals of catastrophic extinctions has recently become a central focus for ecologists, but species’ functional responses to environmental changes remain an untapped source for the sharpening of such warning signals. Telomere length (TL) analysis represents a promising molecular tool with which to raise the alarm regarding early population decline, since telomere attrition is associated with aging processes and accelerates after a recurrent exposure to environmental stressors. In the southern margin of their range, populations of the common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) recently became extinct at lowest elevations due to changes in climate conditions. However, the proximal signals involved in these demographic declines are still unknown. Here, we sampled 100 yearling lizards from 10 natural populations (n = 10 per population) along an extinction risk gradient. Relative lizard abundance dramatically dropped over 12 years in low-altitude populations characterized by warmer ambient temperatures and higher body growth of lizards early in life. A non-linear relationship was found between TL and population extinction risk, with shorter telomeres in populations facing high risk of extinction when compared to non-threatened ones. Our results identify TL as a promising biomarker and imply that population extinctions might be preceded by a loop of physiological aging.
format	article
author	Andréaz Dupoué Alexis Rutschmann Jean François Le Galliard Jean Clobert Frédéric Angelier Coline Marciau Stéphanie Ruault Donald Miles Sandrine Meylan
author_facet	Andréaz Dupoué Alexis Rutschmann Jean François Le Galliard Jean Clobert Frédéric Angelier Coline Marciau Stéphanie Ruault Donald Miles Sandrine Meylan
author_sort	Andréaz Dupoué
title	Shorter telomeres precede population extinction in wild lizards
title_short	Shorter telomeres precede population extinction in wild lizards
title_full	Shorter telomeres precede population extinction in wild lizards
title_fullStr	Shorter telomeres precede population extinction in wild lizards
title_full_unstemmed	Shorter telomeres precede population extinction in wild lizards
title_sort	shorter telomeres precede population extinction in wild lizards
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/8c692cabf03649a2a6b5469aa5ffdaa0
work_keys_str_mv	AT andreazdupoue shortertelomeresprecedepopulationextinctioninwildlizards AT alexisrutschmann shortertelomeresprecedepopulationextinctioninwildlizards AT jeanfrancoislegalliard shortertelomeresprecedepopulationextinctioninwildlizards AT jeanclobert shortertelomeresprecedepopulationextinctioninwildlizards AT fredericangelier shortertelomeresprecedepopulationextinctioninwildlizards AT colinemarciau shortertelomeresprecedepopulationextinctioninwildlizards AT stephanieruault shortertelomeresprecedepopulationextinctioninwildlizards AT donaldmiles shortertelomeresprecedepopulationextinctioninwildlizards AT sandrinemeylan shortertelomeresprecedepopulationextinctioninwildlizards
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Shorter telomeres precede population extinction in wild lizards

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