What Can Genetic Variation Tell Us About The Evolution Of Senescence?

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 24 Mar 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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Ageing is believed to have evolved by two genetic mechanisms; one requires mutations that reduce survival or reproduction only at late age, whilst the other involves mutations that increase these traits at early age at the expense of late-acting fitness traits.

One very popular approach for evaluating the relative importance of each mechanism involves estimating quantitative genetic parameters for age-specific mortality or fecundity. We re-examine the population genetic theory that is used to justify these tests and generalize it to model more realistic genetic conditions.

We show that under the more general model, these widely-used quantitative genetic tests are not necessarily diagnostic of which evolutionary pathways have led to senescence.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of the journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

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