Sex- and season-dependent differences in telomere length and telomerase activity in the leaves of ash and willow

Ying Mu,Han Song,Hai Lu,Dan-Dan Zhang,Lan-Fang Ren,Feng-Lan Li,Zhi-Li Xun,Di Liu

doi:10.1186/2193-1801-3-163

Abstract

Telomeres and telomerase have important biological functions and can protect chromosome ends. In this study, sex- and season-dependent changes in telomere length and telomerase activity in ash and willow were analyzed. A statistical analysis showed that the telomere lengths of male and female trees differed significantly (P < 0.05). In ash, the telomere lengths of female trees were shorter than those of male trees. In willow, the telomere lengths of female trees were longer than those of male trees. During the annual developmental cycle, the telomere lengths of male and female ash and willow increased from April to May (P < 0.05), remained stable from May to August (P > 0.05), and decreased significantly in September and October (P < 0.05). Additionally, telomerase activities could be detected in both male and female ash and willow trees from April to October. Our results show that the telomere lengths changed according to season and sex in ash and willow. Telomere length did not have a direct positive correlation with telomerase activity.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-3-163) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Highlights

Telomere is the end of linear eukaryotic chromosome, it is complex nucleoprotein structures consisting of repeated DNA sequences
Significant differences in telomere length and insignificant differences in telomerase activity between male and female ash and willow trees To measure differences in telomere length and telomerase activity between male and female ash and willow trees, leaves from ash and willow were obtained from five male trees and five female trees from April to October of 2011
Significant differences between the telomere lengths of male and female ash and willow trees were found in April (P < 0.05) (Figure 2)

Summary

Introduction

Telomere is the end of linear eukaryotic chromosome, it is complex nucleoprotein structures consisting of repeated DNA sequences. The corresponding telomerase activity of plants differs from that of animals; for example, vegetative or meristematic tissues exhibit highlevel activity (McKnight et al 2002; Vleck et al 2003). Both telomerase and alternative mechanisms have been described to control telomere length in the herbaceous plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, and Zea mays (Richards and Ausubel 1988; HellerUszynska et al 2002; Li et al 2009), and in the perennial trees Carica papaya (Shakirov et al 2008), Pinus longaeva (Flanary and Kletetschka 2005), Ginkgo biloba (Liu et al 2007; Song et al 2010, 2011), and Pinus sylvestris (Aronen and Ryynänen 2012)

Methods

Results

Conclusion