ArticleNature ecology & evolution2022
Hibernation slows epigenetic ageing in yellow-bellied marmots.
Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers.
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37 citing papers in PubMed, 57 citations in OpenAlex.
- Using Organoids to Unlock the Potential of Human Torpor for Spaceflight.Current stem cell reports · 2026Article
- Energy constraint on human health.Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM · 2026Review
- Artificial hibernation: A new technique for protecting neural tissue and organs.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Discovery of a snail hibernation-inducer offering hibernation-like cardioprotection through metabolic rewiring and autophagy in mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Epigenetic Signatures of Ageing in Asian Elephants Revealed by Reduced Representation Bisulphite Sequencing.Evolutionary applications · 2026Article
- Comparative physiology and biomimetics in metabolic and environmental health: what can we learn from extreme animal phenotypes?Diabetologia · 2026Review
- Hibernation-Inspired Innovations in Biomedicine: Addressing Aging, Chronic Diseases, and Critical Care.Canadian journal of zoology · 2026Article
- Independent Avian Epigenetic Clocks for Ageing and Development.Molecular ecology resources · 2025Article
- Designing Epigenetic Clocks for Wildlife Research.Molecular ecology resources · 2025Review
- Using diapause as a platform to understand the biology of dormancy.Open biology · 2025Review
- Geographic Variation in Epigenetic Responses to Hypoxia in Deer Mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) Distributed Along an Elevational Gradient.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- DNA Methylation Dynamics Reflect Sex and Status Differences in Mortality Rates in a Polygynous Bat.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- A torpor-like state in mice slows blood epigenetic aging and prolongs healthspan.Nature aging · 2025Article
- The androgen clock is an epigenetic predictor of long-term male hormone exposure.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Maximizing insights from longitudinal epigenetic age data: simulations, applications, and practical guidance.Clinical epigenetics · 2024Article
- Immune gene regulation is associated with age and environmental adversity in a nonhuman primate.Molecular ecology · 2024Article
- Privacy-preserving biological age prediction over federated human methylation data using fully homomorphic encryption.Genome research · 2024Article
- Maximizing Insights from Longitudinal Epigenetic Age Data: Simulations, Applications, and Practical Guidance.Research square · 2024Article
- A torpor-like state (TLS) in mice slows blood epigenetic aging and prolongs healthspan.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Comparative transcriptomic evidence of physiological changes and potential relationships in vertebrates under different dormancy states.Zoological research · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Species that hibernate generally live longer than would be expected based solely on their body size. Hibernation is characterized by long periods of metabolic suppression (torpor) interspersed by short periods of increased metabolism (arousal). The torpor-arousal cycles occur multiple times during hibernation, and it has been suggested that processes controlling the transition between torpor and arousal states cause ageing suppression. Metabolic rate is also a known correlate of longevity; we thus proposed the 'hibernation-ageing hypothesis' whereby ageing is suspended during hibernation. We tested this hypothesis in a well-studied population of yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer), which spend 7-8 months per year hibernating. We used two approaches to estimate epigenetic age: the epigenetic clock and the epigenetic pacemaker. Variation in epigenetic age of 149 samples collected throughout the life of 73 females was modelled using generalized additive mixed models (GAMM), where season (cyclic cubic spline) and chronological age (cubic spline) were fixed effects. As expected, the GAMM using epigenetic ages calculated from the epigenetic pacemaker was better able to detect nonlinear patterns in epigenetic ageing over time. We observed a logarithmic curve of epigenetic age with time, where the epigenetic age increased at a higher rate until females reached sexual maturity (two years old). With respect to circannual patterns, the epigenetic age increased during the active season and essentially stalled during the hibernation period. Taken together, our results are consistent with the hibernation-ageing hypothesis and may explain the enhanced longevity in hibernators.
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