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Telomere biology in Metazoa
Author(s) -
Gomes Nuno M.V.,
Shay Jerry W.,
Wright Woodring E.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2010.07.031
Subject(s) - telomerase , telomere , biology , multicellular organism , mechanism (biology) , evolutionary biology , somatic cell , model organism , amphibian , comparative biology , vertebrate , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , dna , ecology , gene , philosophy , epistemology
In this review we present critical overview of some of the available literature on the fundamental biology of telomeres and telomerase in Metazoan. With the exception of Nematodes and Arthropods, the (TTAGGG) n sequence is conserved in most Metazoa. Available data show that telomerase‐based end maintenance is a very ancient mechanism in unicellular and multicellular organisms. In invertebrates, fish, amphibian, and reptiles persistent telomerase activity in somatic tissues might allow the maintenance of the extensive regenerative potentials of these species. Telomerase repression among birds and many mammals suggests that, as humans, they may use replicative aging as a tumor protection mechanism.