Author Correction: Universal DNA methylation age across mammalian tissues

MammalMethylClock R package: software for DNA methylation-based epigenetic clocks in mammals

“…We advise data analysts to exclude CpG probes from their analysis when the associated oligonucleotide sequence isn’t found in the target genome. CpG genome annotations for hundreds of species (including nonmammalian) are available on the Mammalian Methylation Consortium’s GitHub page ( Haghani et al 2023 , Lu et al 2023 ) at https://github.com/shorvath/MammalianMethylationConsortium/tree/v2.0.0 .…”

“…Characteristics of species, including maximum lifespan, age of sexual maturity, and gestational period, which serve as parameters for certain clocks, were sourced from a revised edition of the Animal Aging and Longevity Database (AnAge, https://genomics.senescence.info/species/index.html ) ( de Magalhães et al 2007 ). We used the same updated version of AnAge that was presented in ( Lu et al 2023 ).…”

“…The Mammalian Methylation Consortium used the mammalian methylation array, which measures DNA methylation levels in 37 492 CpGs, including those flanking DNA sequences that are highly conserved across mammals ( Arneson et al 2022 ). The consortium successfully profiled over 15 000 samples from 348 mammalian species ( Haghani et al 2023 , Lu et al 2023 ) and published many epigenetic clocks tailored to specific species and tissue types [see the software’s GitHub page ( https://github.com/jazoller96/mammalian-methyl-clocks/tree/main ) or the “getClockDatabase()” function for a list of references for all of the clocks included in this software]. In the following, we present the R software tools and the accompanying statistical techniques pivotal for the development, assessment, and application of these epigenetic clocks.…”

“…In the following, we present the R software tools and the accompanying statistical techniques pivotal for the development, assessment, and application of these epigenetic clocks. We will describe the steps to use this software package, including how to apply the aforementioned published nonhuman and multi-species clocks including the Universal Pan-Mammalian clocks ( Lu et al 2023 ). The MammalMethylClock R package serves as a comprehensive suite tailored to the demands of constructing, assessing, and deploying new epigenetic clocks.…”

“…The Mammalian Methylation Consortium used the HorvathMammalMethylChip40 Infinium array platform, also known as the mammalian methylation array, which profiles oligonucleotide probes that pinpoint sites conserved across a vast majority of mammalian species ( Arneson et al 2022 ). Every published clock integrated into our software package owes its genesis to this mammalian methylation array, most notably the Universal Pan-Mammalian clocks ( Lu et al 2023 ).…”