Pervasive Effects of Aging on Gene Expression in Wild Wolves.

ABSTRACT: Gene expression levels change as an individual ages and responds to environmental conditions. With the exception of humans, such patterns have principally been studied under controlled conditions, overlooking the array of developmental and environmental influences that organisms encounter under conditions in which natural selection operates. We used high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of whole blood to assess the relative impacts of social status, age, disease, and sex on gene expression levels in a natural population of gray wolves (Canis lupus). Our findings suggest that age is broadly associated with gene expression levels, whereas other examined factors have minimal effects on gene expression patterns. Further, our results reveal evolutionarily conserved signatures of senescence,

SUBMITTER: Charruau P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5854094 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature