Research Paper Volume 9, Issue 3 pp 1055—1068
An epigenetic aging clock for dogs and wolves
- 1 Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- 2 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- 3 Department of Human Genetics and Biomathematics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Received: February 6, 2016 Accepted: March 18, 2017 Published: March 28, 2017
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.101211How to Cite
Abstract
Several articles describe highly accurate age estimation methods based on human DNA-methylation data. It is not yet known whether similar epigenetic aging clocks can be developed based on blood methylation data from canids. Using Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing, we assessed blood DNA-methylation data from 46 domesticated dogs (Canis familiaris) and 62 wild gray wolves (C. lupus). By regressing chronological dog age on the resulting CpGs, we defined highly accurate multivariate age estimators for dogs (based on 41 CpGs), wolves (67 CpGs), and both combined (115 CpGs). Age related DNA methylation changes in canids implicate similar gene ontology categories as those observed in humans suggesting an evolutionarily conserved mechanism underlying age-related DNA methylation in mammals.