Abstract Telomeres are DNA-protein caps at the ends of chromosomes that have been shown to be associated with male fertility may be heritable, reflect environmental influences and predict life span in some taxa. If heritable, paternal telomere length would be transmitted via sperm in the form of sperm telomere length (STL). We, therefore, investigated STL, sperm number and velocity in the Australian-painted dragon lizard, Ctenophorus pictus , an agamid lizard with distinct male colour morphs and related reproductive tactics. We measured telomere length in the sperm and blood as well as superoxide levels, as a measure for the potential for oxidative stress and ejaculate quality. We also noted a male’s head colour (red, orange, yellow or blue) and whether or not they had a yellow gular bib. Previous research has reported that yellow males outcompete red males in sperm competition; we found that yellow males had significantly shorter STL than red males. Males with bibs had greater STL than did males without bibs. Superoxide levels measured in the blood were negatively correlated with STL. Whole blood TL and body length were weakly but positively correlated with STL. Superoxide measurements were negatively correlated with progressive sperm motility and straight line sperm velocity across all males. The ejaculates of males with bibs had lower sperm counts and velocity than males without bibs. Our research adds to the growing research that indicates the importance of considering both somatic and gametic telomeres when assessing the interaction between telomere dynamics, life history and reproductive strategies. Significance statement Telomeres are DNA-protein caps at the ends of chromosomes that reflect environmental stress may be heritable and epigenetically modified, may predict life span in some taxa and may influence the probability of paternity in sperm competition. Ours is one of the first studies to examine correlates of sperm telomere length in a non-mammalian, polymorphic species, but much more remains to be done. Telomere research in non-model species has focused on survival consequences of variation in telomere traits with less attention paid to the fact that sperm (and egg) telomere biology can link life history traits directly to reproductive physiology. We chose to investigate sperm velocity and sperm telomere length (STL) in the painted dragon lizard, Ctenophorus pictus , an agamid lizard with distinct male morphs and associated reproductive tactics. We also observed morph-specific differences in ejaculate quality and STL; in particular, males with yellow bibs had longer STL but poorer ejaculate quality metrics (e.g., number of sperm, velocity and proportion of progressively motile sperm) than males without the throat patch. The differences in STL between the morphs and the negative relationship between sperm velocity and STL, along with previous work on this species, suggest that telomere length and dynamics may be linked with the reproductive tactics of colour morphs within this species.

中文翻译：

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多态爬行动物超氧化物、精子端粒长度和精子速度的协变

摘要 端粒是染色体末端的 DNA 蛋白质帽，已被证明与男性生育能力有关，可能是可遗传的，反映环境影响并预测某些分类群的寿命。如果可遗传，父本端粒长度将通过精子以精子端粒长度 (STL) 的形式传播。因此，我们研究了澳大利亚彩绘龙蜥的 STL、精子数量和速度，Ctenophorus pictus，一种具有不同雄性颜色变形和相关繁殖策略的蜥蜴。我们测量了精子和血液中的端粒长度以及超氧化物水平，作为氧化应激和射精质量潜力的衡量标准。我们还注意到男性的头部颜色（红色、橙色、黄色或蓝色）以及他们是否有黄色的围兜。先前的研究报告称，黄色雄性在精子竞争中胜过红色雄性；我们发现黄色雄性的 STL 明显短于红色雄性。有围兜的男性比没有围兜的男性有更高的 STL。血液中测得的超氧化物水平与 STL 呈负相关。全血 TL 和体长与 STL 呈微弱但正相关。超氧化物测量与所有男性的进步精子活力和直线精子速度呈负相关。有围兜的男性的精子数量和速度低于没有围兜的男性。我们的研究增加了越来越多的研究，这些研究表明在评估端粒动态、生活史和生殖策略之间的相互作用时考虑体细胞和配子端粒的重要性。意义说明端粒是染色体末端的 DNA 蛋白质帽，反映环境压力可能是可遗传的和表观遗传修饰的，可能预测某些分类群的寿命，并可能影响精子竞争中的亲子关系概率。我们的研究是最早研究非哺乳动物多态性物种中精子端粒长度相关性的研究之一，但还有更多工作要做。非模型物种的端粒研究侧重于端粒特征变异的生存后果，而较少关注精子（和卵子）端粒生物学可以将生活史特征直接与生殖生理学联系起来的事实。我们选择研究彩绘龙蜥的精子速度和精子端粒长度 (STL)，Ctenophorus pictus，一种具有独特雄性变体和相关繁殖策略的蜥蜴。我们还观察到射精质量和 STL 的形态特异性差异；特别是，与没有喉咙补丁的男性相比，带有黄色围兜的男性具有更长的 STL，但射精质量指标（例如，精子数量、速度和逐渐活动精子的比例）较差。变形之间 STL 的差异以及精子速度和 STL 之间的负相关关系，以及之前对该物种的研究，表明端粒长度和动力学可能与该物种内颜色变形的生殖策略有关。速度和逐渐活动精子的比例）比没有喉咙补丁的男性。变体之间 STL 的差异以及精子速度和 STL 之间的负相关关系，以及之前对该物种的研究，表明端粒长度和动力学可能与该物种内颜色变体的生殖策略有关。速度和逐渐活动精子的比例）比没有喉咙补丁的男性。变体之间 STL 的差异以及精子速度和 STL 之间的负相关关系，以及之前对该物种的研究，表明端粒长度和动力学可能与该物种内颜色变体的生殖策略有关。