The reanalysis of three large datasets uncovers progressive telomere
erosion between healthy human generations and supports an 11-year-old
model of telomere-driven macroevolution
Abstract
Upon re-examination of large telomere datasets from healthy human
populations, a downward secular trend in telomere length at birth was
found. The authors theorized that relatively recent environmental
stresses to female germ cells could have driven the observed
intergenerational telomere erosion; otherwise, these trends would have
pushed populations into pathological telomere length ranges within a few
centuries. Strangely, the authors decided to disregard an 11-year-old
theory of telomere-driven macroevolution that is based on progressive
intergenerational telomere loss as the driving force behind species
extinction and speciation. Additionally, Holohan and colleagues
introduced a “new” interpretation of the
old-father-long-telomered-offspring effect, namely as a consequence of
intergenerational telomere erosion in the female lineage. Yet, an
identical theoretical model has been published twice, several years
before. To distinguish between a temporary trend caused by environmental
pollution and a general evolutionary mechanism of intergenerational
telomere erosion, we urgently need telomere length data from
multigenerational studies on mammals with a short generation-time.