An epigenetic clock to estimate the age of living beluga whales

Abstract DNA methylation data facilitate the development of accurate molecular estimators of chronological age or “epigenetic clocks.” We present a robust epigenetic clock for the beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas, developed for an endangered population in Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA. We used a custom...

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Published in:Evolutionary Applications
Main Authors: Eleanor K. Bors, C. Scott Baker, Paul R. Wade, Kaimyn B. O'Neill, Kim E. W. Shelden, Michael J. Thompson, Zhe Fei, Simon Jarman, Steve Horvath
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13195
https://doaj.org/article/b16a65bbb9a24e6b91265d88bb6e48af
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spelling ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b16a65bbb9a24e6b91265d88bb6e48af 2023-05-15T15:41:41+02:00 An epigenetic clock to estimate the age of living beluga whales Eleanor K. Bors C. Scott Baker Paul R. Wade Kaimyn B. O'Neill Kim E. W. Shelden Michael J. Thompson Zhe Fei Simon Jarman Steve Horvath 2021-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13195 https://doaj.org/article/b16a65bbb9a24e6b91265d88bb6e48af EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13195 https://doaj.org/toc/1752-4571 1752-4571 doi:10.1111/eva.13195 https://doaj.org/article/b16a65bbb9a24e6b91265d88bb6e48af Evolutionary Applications, Vol 14, Iss 5, Pp 1263-1273 (2021) aging Alaska cetaceans conservation biology Cook Inlet DNA methylation Evolution QH359-425 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13195 2022-12-31T06:34:37Z Abstract DNA methylation data facilitate the development of accurate molecular estimators of chronological age or “epigenetic clocks.” We present a robust epigenetic clock for the beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas, developed for an endangered population in Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA. We used a custom methylation array to measure methylation levels at 37,491 cytosine–guanine sites (CpGs) from skin samples of dead whales (n = 67) whose chronological ages were estimated based on tooth growth layer groups. Using these calibration data, a penalized regression model selected 23 CpGs, providing an R2 = 0.92 for the training data; and an R2 = 0.74 and median absolute age error = 2.9 years for the leave one out cross‐validation. We applied the epigenetic clock to an independent dataset of 38 skin samples collected with a biopsy dart from living whales between 2016 and 2018. Age estimates ranged from 11 to 27 years. We also report sex correlations in CpG data and describe an approach of identifying the sex of an animal using DNA methylation. The epigenetic estimators of age and sex presented here have broad applications for conservation and management of Cook Inlet beluga whales and potentially other cetaceans. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Evolutionary Applications 14 5 1263 1273
institution Open Polar
collection Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
op_collection_id ftdoajarticles
language English
topic aging
Alaska
cetaceans
conservation biology
Cook Inlet
DNA methylation
Evolution
QH359-425
spellingShingle aging
Alaska
cetaceans
conservation biology
Cook Inlet
DNA methylation
Evolution
QH359-425
Eleanor K. Bors
C. Scott Baker
Paul R. Wade
Kaimyn B. O'Neill
Kim E. W. Shelden
Michael J. Thompson
Zhe Fei
Simon Jarman
Steve Horvath
An epigenetic clock to estimate the age of living beluga whales
topic_facet aging
Alaska
cetaceans
conservation biology
Cook Inlet
DNA methylation
Evolution
QH359-425
description Abstract DNA methylation data facilitate the development of accurate molecular estimators of chronological age or “epigenetic clocks.” We present a robust epigenetic clock for the beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas, developed for an endangered population in Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA. We used a custom methylation array to measure methylation levels at 37,491 cytosine–guanine sites (CpGs) from skin samples of dead whales (n = 67) whose chronological ages were estimated based on tooth growth layer groups. Using these calibration data, a penalized regression model selected 23 CpGs, providing an R2 = 0.92 for the training data; and an R2 = 0.74 and median absolute age error = 2.9 years for the leave one out cross‐validation. We applied the epigenetic clock to an independent dataset of 38 skin samples collected with a biopsy dart from living whales between 2016 and 2018. Age estimates ranged from 11 to 27 years. We also report sex correlations in CpG data and describe an approach of identifying the sex of an animal using DNA methylation. The epigenetic estimators of age and sex presented here have broad applications for conservation and management of Cook Inlet beluga whales and potentially other cetaceans.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Eleanor K. Bors
C. Scott Baker
Paul R. Wade
Kaimyn B. O'Neill
Kim E. W. Shelden
Michael J. Thompson
Zhe Fei
Simon Jarman
Steve Horvath
author_facet Eleanor K. Bors
C. Scott Baker
Paul R. Wade
Kaimyn B. O'Neill
Kim E. W. Shelden
Michael J. Thompson
Zhe Fei
Simon Jarman
Steve Horvath
author_sort Eleanor K. Bors
title An epigenetic clock to estimate the age of living beluga whales
title_short An epigenetic clock to estimate the age of living beluga whales
title_full An epigenetic clock to estimate the age of living beluga whales
title_fullStr An epigenetic clock to estimate the age of living beluga whales
title_full_unstemmed An epigenetic clock to estimate the age of living beluga whales
title_sort epigenetic clock to estimate the age of living beluga whales
publisher Wiley
publishDate 2021
url https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13195
https://doaj.org/article/b16a65bbb9a24e6b91265d88bb6e48af
genre Beluga
Beluga whale
Beluga*
Delphinapterus leucas
Alaska
genre_facet Beluga
Beluga whale
Beluga*
Delphinapterus leucas
Alaska
op_source Evolutionary Applications, Vol 14, Iss 5, Pp 1263-1273 (2021)
op_relation https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13195
https://doaj.org/toc/1752-4571
1752-4571
doi:10.1111/eva.13195
https://doaj.org/article/b16a65bbb9a24e6b91265d88bb6e48af
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13195
container_title Evolutionary Applications
container_volume 14
container_issue 5
container_start_page 1263
op_container_end_page 1273
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