Telomeres shorten and then lengthen before fledging in Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus).

ABSTRACT: For all species, finite metabolic resources must be allocated toward three competing systems: maintenance, reproduction, and growth. Telomeres, the nucleoprotein tips of chromosomes, which shorten with age in most species, are correlated with increased survival. Chick growth is energetically costly and is associated with telomere shortening in most species. To assess the change in telomeres in penguin chicks, we quantified change in telomere length of wild known-age Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) chicks every 15 days during the species' growth period, from hatching to 60 days-of-age. Magellanic penguins continue to grow after fledging so we also sampled a set of 1-year-old juvenile penguins, and adults aged 5 years. Telomeres were significantly shorter on day 15 than o

SUBMITTER: Cerchiara JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5361676 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature