wildEPIClock · DNA methylation as epigenetic clock of biological age? An experimental test in wild birds
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-02-01 → 2024-01-31
- EU contribution
- €187,572
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
DNA methylation as epigenetic clock of biological age? An experimental test in wild birds
DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification that changes with progressing age and is now recognized as the best biomarker of organismal ageing. The role of DNA methylation scoring is largely growing in epidemiological studies as it predicts remaining lifespan markedly better than chronological age. Identification of factors that contribute to ageing-related methylation has thereby become of importance for understanding healthy ageing. Overall, this action aimed to develop a DNA methylation age score and apply this to understand causes and consequences of individual variation in life-histories of wild jackdaws (Coloeus monedula) using a large existing set of biological samples. Importantly, the species was studied in its natural environment, which in contrast to laboratory studies, allows to interpret the findings in an evolutionarily relevant context. Another goal of the action involved the development of scientific and transferable skills of the researcher. In conclusion, the researcher alongside the host team unravelled the unique methylomes of sex chromosomes and the disproportionate representation of age-related CpG sites on avian sex chromosomes. The exploitable results from this action contribute to a better understanding of ageing epigenetics and offer new avenues for studying epigenetics of ecological and evolutionary processes with avian models.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
DNA methylation (DNAm), an epigenetic effect, changes with age in a site-dependent way. DNAm score, integrating methylation state at many sites, has recently emerged as a superior marker of biological age in epidemiological studies: it predicts remaining lifespan markedly better than chronological age (CA). Identification of factors that contribute to ageing-related methylation has thereby become of importance for understanding healthy ageing. In this project, I will use a large existing set of biological samples of a free-ranging animal (jackdaw, Coloeus monedula) with known life-histories, monitored longitudinally throughout their lives, to reveal causes (experimental approach) and consequences (lifelong monitoring) of DNAm variation. By integrating expertise from evolutionary ecology, quantitative genetics and biomedicine, I will develop an epigenetic clock to build a comprehensive understanding of shifts in DNAm and their ultimate fitness consequences, unravelling extragenic mechanisms of inheritance and phenotypic evolution in an ecologically relevant setup. Specific objectives, implemented through dedicated work packages, are:O1-Groundwork: Develop an epigenetic clock of CA for wild jackdaws. Method WP1: wet-lab analyses of DNAm and identification of CpG sites where methylation changes with CA to be combined in a DNAm score of age.O2-Causes: Identify environmental and quantitative (epi)genetic causes of DNAm variation, leveraging a long-term brood size manipulation experiment that affected ageing in parents (mortality) and offspring (telomere dynamics). Method WP2: analysis of longitudinal age-corrected DNAm data and the pedigree.O3&O4-Consequences: Study the link between the DNAm and its results on life-history traits according to the manipulation (O3,WP3a). Quantify transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (O4, WP3b). Method: longitudinal data analysis of phenotypic traits and transgenerational effects to unravel consequences of variation in DNAm.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN · GroningenCoordinatorNetherlands
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union