Accurate Epigenetic Aging in Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), an Essential Step in the Conservation of at-Risk Dolphins
Ashley Barratclough, Cynthia R. Smith, Forrest M. Gomez, Theoni Photopoulou, Ryan Takeshita, Enrico Pirotta, Len Thomas, Abby M. McClain, Celeste Parry, Joseph A. Zoller, Steve Horvath, Lori H. Schwacke
Abstract
Epigenetics, specifically DNA methylation, allows for the estimation of animal age from blood or remotely sampled skin. This multi-tissue epigenetic age estimation clock uses 110 longitudinal samples from 34 Navy bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), identifying 195 cytosine-phosphate-guanine sites associated with chronological aging via cross-validation with one individual left out in each fold (R2 = 0.95). With a median absolute error of 2.5 years, this clock improves age estimation capacity in wild dolphins, helping conservation efforts and enabling a better understanding of population demographics.