Emmanuelle d’Alençon (UMR DGIMI, Montpellier) and Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly (UMR iEES-Paris CReA –EcoSens, Versailles) had the pleasure of organizing the 11th international workshop on the molecular biology and genomics of the Lepidoptera. For nearly 30 years, this workshop has brought together the international scientific community working on butterflies and moths every 3 years. Thirteen nationalities met this […]

Since 2016, the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences (iEES Paris) at the Sorbonne University in Paris has been using the Vaisala Continuous Monitoring System to record data in real time and control the temperature and humidity of chambers used for insect breeding and experimentation. The IEES develops innovative strategies and tools for the rehabilitation of damaged environments, the ecologically sustainable management of biological resources and ecosystem services, and adaptation to global change. 

This study unraveled the impacts of accelerated aging pace as a corollary of climate-driven population decline. We found transgenerational accumulation of telomere shortening implying that offspring were already born “old”. We suggest that this process may exacerbate across generations, leading to an aging loop in the population. This model posits that telomere dynamics should represent a molecular biomarker of extirpation, and likely a central cause and promising solution for future biodiversity managing actions.