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High social status males experience accelerated epigenetic aging in wild baboons

Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Aging, for virtually all life, is inescapable. However, within populations, biological aging rates vary. Understanding sources of variation in this process is central to understanding the biodemography of natural populations. We constructed a DNA methylation-based age predictor for an intensively studied wild baboon population in Kenya. Consistent with findings in humans, the resulting 'epigenetic clock' closely tracks chronological age, but individuals are predicted to be somewhat older or younger than their known ages. Surprisingly, these deviations are not explained by the strongest predictors of lifespan in this population, early adversity and social integration. Instead, they are best predicted by male dominance rank: high-ranking males are predicted to be older than their true ages, and epigenetic age tracks changes in rank over time. Our results argue that achieving high rank for male baboons - the best predictor of reproductive success - imposes costs consistent with a 'live fast, die young' life-history strategy.
Source: eLife
DOI: 10.7554/elife.66128
Authors: Jordan A. Anderson, Rachel A. Johnston, Amanda J. Lea, Fernando A. Campos, Tawni N. Voyles, Mercy Y. Akinyi, Susan C. Alberts, Elizabeth A. Archie, Jenny Tung
Institutions: Duke University, Princeton University, The University of Texas at San Antonio, Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, University of Notre Dame, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
Language: English
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,500
Funders: National Science Foundation, North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Princeton University, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, University of Notre Dame, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1151036099, G1439027202, Duke Population Research Center, G3068487439, G3300411028, Early adversity and DNA methylation in a primate model of stress and development., G3712796340, G4061216436, G4293858528, G4351376053, Demography of Sex Differences in Health and Survival, G5306657525, A life course perspective on the effects of cumulative early adversity on health, G5744930572, G5762928640, LTREB Renewal: Life History and Behavior in a Primate Hybrid Zone, G6493549124, G7038786315, G7287600090, G7545932650, G7635487773, Quantifying the genome-wide functional consequences of DNA methylation associated with early life adversity., The biodemography of early adversity: social behavioral processes in a wild animal model., G8111408576, G8425940121, G865442495, Center for Population Health and Aging
OpenAlex ID: W3149310107
FWCI: 22.94
Cites: 104
Cited by: 163
Related to: 10