DNA methylation-based age prediction and sex-specific epigenetic aging in a lizard with female-biased longevity.

ABSTRACT: Sex differences in life span are widespread across animal taxa, but their causes remain unresolved. Alterations to the epigenome are hypothesized to contribute to vertebrate aging, and DNA methylation-based aging clocks allow for quantitative estimation of biological aging trajectories. Here, we investigate the influence of age, sex, and their interaction on genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in the brown anole (Anolis sagrei), a lizard with pronounced female-biased survival and longevity. We develop a series of age predictor models and find that, contrary to our predictions, rates of epigenetic aging were not slower in female lizards. However, methylation states at loci acquiring age-associated changes appear to be more "youthful" in young females, suggesting that female DNA meth

SUBMITTER: Shealy EP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11784858 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature