Data from: Epigenetic estimation of age in humpback whales ...

• Main Authors: Polanowski, Andrea M., Robbins, Jooke, Chandler, David, Jarman, Simon N.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2014
• Subjects: Anthropocene; Population ecology; Megaptera novaengliae; Wildlife Management; Humpback Whale
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h4b48; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.h4b48

Age is a fundamental aspect of animal ecology, but is difficult to determine in many species. Humpback whales exemplify this as they have a lifespan comparable to humans, mature sexually as early as four years and have no reliable visual age indicators after their first year. Current methods for estimating humpback age cannot be applied to all individuals and populations. Assays for human age have recently been developed recently based on age-induced changes in DNA methylation of specific genes. We used information on age-associated DNA methylation in human and mouse genes to identify homologous gene regions in humpbacks. Humpback skin samples were obtained from individuals with a known year of birth and employed to calibrate relationships between cytosine methylation and age. Seven of 37 cytosines assayed for methylation level in humpback skin had significant age-related profiles. The three most age-informative cytosine markers were selected for a humpback epigenetic age assay. The assay has an R2 of 0.787 ... : HEAA_MER_Data+ScriptsThis .zip archive contains two directories. The 'Data' directory contains the measured levels of CpG methylation at various places in the humpback whale genome. The 'Scripts' directory contains the R scripts used to analyse this data. ...