Social isolation shortens telomeres in African Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus erithacus).
Telomeres, the caps of eukaryotic chromosomes, control chromosome stability and cellular senescence, but aging and exposure to chronic stress are suspected to cause attrition of telomere length. We investigated the effect of social isolation on telomere length in the highly social and intelligent African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus erithacus). Our study population consisted of single-housed (n = 26) and pair-housed (n = 19) captive individuals between 0.75 to 45 years of age. Relative telomere length of erythrocyte DNA was measured by quantitative real-time PCR. We found that telomere length declined with age (p<0.001), and socially isolated parrots had significantly shorter telomeres compared to pair-housed birds (p<0.001) - even among birds of similar ages. Our findings provide the first evidence that social isolation affects telomere length, which supports the hypothesis that telomeres provide a biomarker indicating exposure to chronic stress.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria; Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
Denise
D
Aydinonat
Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
Dustin J
DJ
Penn
Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
Steve
S
Smith
Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
Yoshan
Y
Moodley
Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
Franz
F
Hoelzl
Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
Felix
F
Knauer
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
Franz
F
Schwarzenberger
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000737:chemistry; D010311:Parrots / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059506:Telomere Shortening / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
D015415:Biomarkers; D017931:DNA Primers