Telomere Length is Reset During Early Mammalian Embryogenesis

Overview

Journal Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Specialty Science

Date 2004 May 19

PMID 15148368

Citations 60

Authors

Sonja Schaetzlein

Andrea Lucas-Hahn

Erika Lemme

Wilfried A Kues

Martina Dorsch

Michael P Manns

Heiner Niemann

K Lenhard Rudolph

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The enzyme telomerase is active in germ cells and early embryonic development and is crucial for the maintenance of telomere length. Whereas the different length of telomeres in germ cells and somatic cells is well documented, information on telomere length regulation during embryogenesis is lacking. In this study, we demonstrate a telomere elongation program at the transition from morula to blastocyst in mice and cattle that establishes a specific telomere length set point during embryogenesis. We show that this process restores telomeres in cloned embryos derived from fibroblasts, regardless of the telomere length of donor nuclei, and that telomere elongation at this stage of embryogenesis is telomerase-dependent because it is abrogated in telomerase-deficient mice. These data demonstrate that early mammalian embryos have a telomerase-dependent genetic program that elongates telomeres to a defined length, possibly required to ensure sufficient telomere reserves for species integrity.

Citing Articles

Telomere length in offspring is determined by mitochondrial-nuclear communication at fertilization.

Winstanley Y, Rose R, Sobinoff A, Wu L, Adhikari D, Zhang Q Nat Commun. 2025; 16(1):2527.

PMID: 40087268 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57794-7.

A parent-of-origin effect on embryonic telomere elongation determines telomere length inheritance.

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Telomere Reprogramming and Cellular Metabolism: Is There a Link?.

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Telomere dynamics in human pluripotent stem cells.

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Chromosome ends and the theory of marginotomy: implications for reproduction.

Cordova-Oriz I, Polonio A, Cuadrado-Torroglosa I, Chico-Sordo L, Medrano M, Garcia-Velasco J Biogerontology. 2023; 25(2):227-248.

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