Assortative breeding experiment in a songbird suggests telomere length is determined during early life rather than at conception.

ABSTRACT: Telomere length (TL) early in life often shows high heritability and may predict telomere shortening later in life and life expectancy. Yet, there is limited data about what influences TL and TL change at early developmental stages. It is debated whether early-life TL is determined at conception or shaped by early environmental conditions. Here, we investigate whether TL and telomere shortening are set close to conception. We assortatively paired zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) based on their TL when nestlings, forming two parental pair groups with either 'short' or 'long' TL. We then measured TL in the offspring of these pairs at the embryo and nestling stages. In embryos, TL did not differ between offspring from the two parental pair groups. However, in nestlings, particularly in son

SUBMITTER: Xiong Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12540821 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature