Data from: Reduced telomere length in offspring of old fathers in a long-lived seabird

Evidence for transgenerational effects of senescence, whereby offspring from older parents have a reduced lifetime reproductive success, is increasing. Such effects could arise from compromised germline maintenance in old parents, potentially reflected in reduced telomere length in their offspring. We test the relationship between parental age and offspring early-life telomere length in a natural population of common terns and find a significant negative correlation between paternal age and offspring telomere length. Offspring telomere length is reduced by 35 base pairs for each additional year of paternal age. We find no correlation with maternal age. These results fit with the idea of compromised germline maintenance in males, whose germline stem cells require continued division.

关于衰老跨代效应的研究证据正不断增多：该效应表现为年长亲本的后代其终身繁殖成功率会出现下降。这类效应可能源于年长亲本生殖系维持（germline maintenance）能力受损，而这一损伤可能会体现在后代端粒长度（telomere length）缩短这一现象中。我们以普通燕鸥（common terns）的自然种群为研究样本，检测亲本年龄与后代早期端粒长度之间的关联，结果发现父本年龄与后代端粒长度之间存在显著负相关。父本年龄每增加1岁，后代端粒长度便会缩短35个碱基对（base pairs）。未发现母本年龄与后代端粒长度存在相关关系。上述结果与雄性生殖系维持能力受损的学术假说相契合——雄性的生殖系干细胞（germline stem cells）需要持续进行分裂。