The untapped potential of reptile biodiversity for understanding how and why animals age
Date
Authors
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Research Projects
Organizational Units
The Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology seeks to teach the studies of ecology (organisms and their environment), evolutionary theory (the origin and interrelationships of organisms), and organismal biology (the structure, function, and biodiversity of organisms). In doing this, it offers several majors which are codirected with other departments, including biology, genetics, and environmental sciences.
History
The Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology was founded in 2003 as a merger of the Department of Botany, the Department of Microbiology, and the Department of Zoology and Genetics.
Dates of Existence
2003–present
Related Units
- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (parent college)
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (parent college)
- Department of Botany (predecessor, 2003)
- Department of Microbiology (predecessor, 2003)
- Department of Zoology and Genetics (predecessor, 2003)
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
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 the knowledge gaps in our understanding of reptile aging?
3. We find ample evidence of increasing mortality with advancing age in many reptiles. Testudines stand out as slower aging than other orders, but data on crocodilians and tuatara are sparse. Sex‐specific analyses are generally not available. Studies of female reproduction suggest that reptiles are less likely to have reproductive decline with advancing age than mammals.
4. Reptiles share many physiological and molecular pathways of aging with mammals, birds, and laboratory model organisms. Adaptations related to stress physiology coupled with reptilian ectothermy suggest novel comparisons and contrasts that can be made with canonical aging phenotypes in mammals. These include stem cell and regeneration biology, homeostatic mechanisms, IIS/TOR signaling, and DNA repair.
5. To overcome challenges to the study of reptile aging, we recommend extending and expanding long‐term monitoring of reptile populations, developing reptile cell lines to aid cellular biology, conducting more comparative studies of reptile morphology and physiology sampled along relevant life‐history axes, and sequencing more reptile genomes for comparative genomics. Given the diversity of reptile life histories and adaptations, achieving these directives will likely greatly benefit all aging biology.
Comments
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Hoekstra, Luke A., Tonia S. Schwartz, Amanda M. Sparkman, David AW Miller, and Anne M. Bronikowski. "The untapped potential of reptile biodiversity for understanding how and why animals age." Functional Ecology (2019), which has been published in final form at doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.13450. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.