Data for each species included in the meta-analyses from No sex differences in adult telomere length across vertebrates: a meta-analysis

In many mammalian species, females live on average longer than males. In humans, women have consistently longer telomeres than men, and this has led to speculation that sex differences in telomere length (TL) could play a role in sex differences in longevity. To address the generality and drivers of patterns of sex differences in TL across vertebrates, we performed meta-analyses across 51 species. We tested two main evolutionary hypotheses proposed to explain sex differences in TL, namely the heterogametic sex disadvantage and the sexual selection hypotheses. We found no support for consistent sex differences in TL between males and females among mammal, bird, fish and reptile species. This absence of sex differences in TL across different classes of vertebrates does not support the heterogametic sex disadvantage hypothesis. Likewise, the absence of any negative effect of sexual size dimorphism on male TL suggests that sexual selection is not likely to mediate the magnitude of sex differences in TL across vertebrates. Finally, the comparative analyses we conducted did not detect any association between sex differences in TL and sex differences in longevity, which does not support the idea that sex differences in TL could explain the observed sex differences in longevity.

在诸多哺乳动物类群中，雌性个体的平均寿命普遍高于雄性。在人类群体中，女性的端粒长度（telomere length, TL）始终长于男性，这一现象引发学界推测：端粒长度的性别差异或许与寿命的性别差异存在关联。为探究脊椎动物类群中端粒长度性别差异模式的普遍性及其驱动机制，我们针对51个物种开展了元分析。我们检验了用以解释端粒长度性别差异的两项主流演化假说，即异配性别劣势假说（heterogametic sex disadvantage）与性选择假说（sexual selection hypothesis）。研究结果显示，在哺乳类、鸟类、鱼类与爬行类物种中，并未观测到雌雄个体间端粒长度存在一致性的性别差异。脊椎动物各纲中均未出现端粒长度的性别差异，这一结果不支持异配性别劣势假说。同样，性别体型二态性并未对雄性端粒长度产生显著负向影响，这表明性选择不太可能介导脊椎动物类群中端粒长度性别差异的幅度。最后，我们开展的比较分析未发现端粒长度的性别差异与寿命的性别差异之间存在任何关联，这一结果不支持"端粒长度的性别差异可解释观测到的寿命性别差异"这一学术观点。