Supporting Files: Epigenetic clocks, sex markers, and age-class diagnostics in three harvested large mammals

Here, we report an epigenetic aging study focused on three species of North American large mammals that are the focus of extensive management throughout their range: white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), black bear (Ursus americanus), or mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus).  

We quantified differential DNA methylation patterns at 37,492 cytosine-guanine sites (CpGs) using a large-scale Illumina methylation array (HorvathMammalMethylChip40). We used a penalized regression model to develop novel species-specific epigenetic clocks and identified <40 CpGs within each species that are predictive of age. We also identified individual CpG sites within each species that are highly correlated with age class and sex to develop a suite of accessible diagnostic markers.