The untapped potential of reptile biodiversity for understanding how and why animals age.

ABSTRACT: 1. The field of comparative aging biology has greatly expanded in the past 20 years. Longitudinal studies of populations of reptiles with a range of maximum lifespans have accumulated and been analyzed for evidence of mortality senescence and reproductive decline. While not as well represented in studies of amniote senescence, reptiles have been the subjects of many recent demographic and mechanistic studies of the biology of aging. 2. We review recent literature on reptile demographic senescence, mechanisms of senescence, and identify unanswered questions. Given the ecophysiological and demographic diversity of reptiles, what is the expected range of reptile senescence rates? Are known mechanisms of aging in reptiles consistent with canonical hallmarks of aging in model systems? What are

SUBMITTER: Hoekstra LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7480806 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature