Researchers from the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka have created a world-first epigenetic tool which has implications for medicine, sports, and agriculture.
In a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers found that DNA can be used to predict how long an animal has been exposed to male hormones, otherwise known as androgens.
To do this, they developed the "Androgen Clock", an analysis platform which examines specific DNA regions that change over time in the presence of androgens.
Victoria Sugrue
While researchers have not yet been able to create a clock for humans, they are actively working on it and excited by potential applications.
Lead author Dr Victoria Sugrue, a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Anatomy, says androgens alter DNA over time in a predictable "clock-like" manner and researchers have developed a method to measure it easily.
"We turned the results into a linear model that could estimate months of androgen exposure with surprising accuracy for both mice and sheep," Dr Sugrue says.
"Importantly, when we removed the receptor protein from mice that binds to androgens, the Androgen Clock stopped. Moreover, when we gave androgen to females, the clock started ticking again. This proves the clock depends on androgens and not some other male factor."
High levels of androgen hormone are what makes the average male stronger and faster (and hairier) than the average female. Yet, until now there has been no way to measure long-term male hormone exposure.
Associate Professor Tim Hore, research team leader in the Department of Anatomy, says there are many potential applications for the Androgen Clock in medicine, sports, and agriculture, including meat testing, as performed in the study.
Researchers used it to test for tainted meat, comparing lamb bought from a butcher with old rams from a farm.
