Telomere shortening has been used as an indicator of aging and is believed to accelerate under harsh environmental conditions. This can be attributed to the fact that telomere shortening has often been regarded as non-reversible and negatively impacting fitness. However, studies of laboratory mice indicate that they may be able to repair telomere loss to recover from environmental harshness, as indicated by recent studies in hibernating rodents. We studied seasonal variation in telomere dynamics in African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio) living in a highly seasonal environment. In our annual species, individuals born in the moist spring (high food availability) need to survive the harsh dry summer (low food availability) to be able to reproduce in the following spring. We studied the effect of the harsh dry vs. the benign moist season on telomere dynamics. We also tested if telomere length or the rate of change in telomere length over the dry season predicted the probablity of dissapearance from the population at the same time. Male, but not female, stripped mice showed age-related telomere erosion. Telomeres were longer at the beginning of the dry season compared to the rest of the year. Telomeres increased significantly in length during the moist season. Neither telomere length at the onset of the dry season nor telomere loss over the dry season predicted whether or not individuals disappeared. In conclusion, our data suggest that seasonal attrition and restoring of telomeres also occurs in non-hibernating wild rodents living in hot food restricted environments.

端粒缩短已被用作老化的指标，并且据信在恶劣的环境条件下加速。这可以归因于以下事实：端粒缩短通常被认为是不可逆的，并且对身体健康造成负面影响。但是，对实验室小鼠的研究表明，它们可能能够修复端粒丢失，从而从环境恶劣中恢复过来，正如最近在休眠啮齿类动物方面的研究所表明的那样。我们研究了生活在高度季节性环境中的非洲条纹小鼠（Rhabdomys pumilio）端粒动力学的季节性变化。在我们的一年生物种中，在潮湿的春季（食物供应量较高）出生的个体需要在严酷的干燥夏季（食物供应量较低）下生存，才能在下一个春季繁殖。我们研究了严酷干燥的影响与端粒动力学的良性潮湿季节。我们还测试了在干燥季节端粒长度或端粒长度变化率是否同时预测了人口消失的可能性。雄性但非雌性剥离的小鼠表现出与年龄有关的端粒侵蚀。与一年中的其余时间相比，旱季开始时端粒更长。在潮湿的季节，端粒的长度显着增加。旱季开始时的端粒长度或旱季期间的端粒损失均不能预测个体是否消失。总之，我们的数据表明端粒的季节性损耗和恢复也发生在生活在热食受限环境中的非冬眠野生啮齿动物中。