Investigating epigenetic biomarkers of age, sex, and disease in captive South African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus).

ABSTRACT: Epigenetic modifications, particularly DNA methylation, are strongly associated with chronological age across mammalian species. This study developed cheetah-specific epigenetic clocks from methylation profiles generated from cheetah blood and liver samples tested on the HorvathMammalMethylChip40 Illumina Array. The resulting age clock used 52 CpG sites and predicted age across blood and liver samples (r = 0.97 and MAE = 0.86). When applied to a test set of blood collected from live cheetahs, the clock provided accurate predictions for adult individuals (age > 3 years) but was less precise at and around age of sexual maturity. A second clock, incorporating cheetah, lion, and tiger profiles, used 46 CpG sites and predicted age across these feline species (r = 0.94 and MAE = 1.16). Additiona

SUBMITTER: Ysrael MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12798976 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature