eCite Digital Repository
Ectothermic telomeres: It's time they came in from the cold
Citation
Olsson, M and Wapstra, E and Friesen, C, Ectothermic telomeres: It's time they came in from the cold, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 373, (1741) pp. 1-16. ISSN 0962-8436 (2018) [Refereed Article]
![]() | PDF 1Mb |
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2018 The Authors Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
DOI: doi:10.1098/rstb.2016.0449
Abstract
We review the evolutionary ecology and genetics of telomeres in taxa that cannot elevate their body temperature to a preferred level through metabolism but do so by basking or seeking out a warm environment. This group of organisms contains all living things on earth, apart from birds and mammals. One reason for our interest in this synthetic group is the argument that high, stable body temperature increases the risk of malignant tumours if long, telomerase-restored telomeres make cells 'live forever'. If this holds true, ectotherms should have significantly lower cancer frequencies. We discuss to what degree there is support for this 'anti-cancer' hypothesis in the current literature. Importantly, we suggest that ectothermic taxa, with variation in somatic telomerase expression across tissue and taxa, may hold the key to understanding ongoing selection and evolution of telomerase dynamics in the wild. We further review endotherm-specific effects of growth on telomeres, effects of autotomy ('tail dropping') on telomere attrition, and costs of maintaining sexual displays measured in telomere attrition. Finally, we cover plant ectotherm telomeres and life histories in a separate 'mini review'.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | telomeres, ageing, sexual selection, life history, reptiles, ecology, evolution, genetics, physiology |
Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
Research Group: | Ecology |
Research Field: | Ecological physiology |
Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences |
UTAS Author: | Wapstra, E (Professor Erik Wapstra) |
ID Code: | 128900 |
Year Published: | 2018 |
Funding Support: | Australian Research Council (FT110100597) |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 51 |
Deposited By: | Zoology |
Deposited On: | 2018-10-23 |
Last Modified: | 2019-03-05 |
Downloads: | 120 View Download Statistics |
Repository Staff Only: item control page