In other species: dog , taurine cattle , pig

Categories: Normal phene

Possibly relevant human trait(s) and/or gene(s) (MIM number): 609113 (trait)

Links to MONDO diseases: No links.

Mendelian trait/disorder: unknown

Considered a defect: yes

Species-specific description: Froy et al. (2021) "dissected an observed positive association between TL [telomere length] and subsequent survival using multivariate quantitative genetic models. We found no evidence that telomere attrition was associated with increased mortality risk, suggesting that TL is not an important marker of biological aging or exposure to environmental stress in our study system. Instead, we find that among-individual differences in average TL are associated with increased lifespan. Our analyses suggest that this correlation between an individual's average TL and lifespan has a genetic basis. This demonstrates that TL has the potential to evolve under natural conditions, and suggests an important role of genetics underlying the widespread observation that short telomeres predict mortality."

Breed: Soay (Sheep) (VBO_0001605).