Molecular basis of life-history evolution: a tale of two insects
type: CreativeWork
description: The field of life-history evolution is aimed at understanding the diversity of fertility and longevity patterns observed in nature. These patterns are influenced by the interplay of traits that directly affect the fitness of individuals, including age at first reproduction, growth rate, age-specific fecundity, and age-specific survival. Variation in life-history strategies occurs because of phylogenetic constraints on organisms, influence of extrinsic factors on mortality (i.e. predation), and tradeoffs in energy allocation between competing physiological processes. Differences in life-history strategies have been well documented at the phenotypic level but their causal genetic mechanisms remain largely unknown. At the genetic level, tradeoffs between lifespan and reproduction have been hypothesized to arise because the force of natural selection decreases with advancing age and favors pleiotropic alleles that have beneficial effects on reproduction early in life even at the cost of survival later in life. Experimental evolution studies in Drosophila have highlighted the existence of tradeoffs between lifespan and reproduction that seem to be consistent with the concept of antagonistic pleiotropy. Selection for increased age at first reproduction, as well as selection for lifespan led to increases in lifespan and reduced early life fecundity in these flies. The underlying physiological cause of tradeoffs has been difficult to study because of the diversity of processes that influence life-history traits. Given that increases in lifespan have widespread influence on reproductive output, molecular geneticists interested in aging have documented survival costs of reproduction in long-lived individuals. Mutations in signaling pathways that couple environmental signals to key physiological processes affect growth, reproduction and lifespan. These studies have provided molecular mechanisms that are excellent candidates for regulating life history traits. However, whether …
abstract: The field of life-history evolution is aimed at understanding the diversity of fertility and longevity patterns observed in nature. These patterns are influenced by the interplay of traits that directly affect the fitness of individuals, including age at first reproduction, growth rate, age-specific fecundity, and age-specific survival. Variation in life-history strategies occurs because of phylogenetic constraints on organisms, influence of extrinsic factors on mortality (i.e. predation), and tradeoffs in energy allocation between competing physiological processes. Differences in life-history strategies have been well documented at the phenotypic level but their causal genetic mechanisms remain largely unknown. At the genetic level, tradeoffs between lifespan and reproduction have been hypothesized to arise because the force of natural selection decreases with advancing age and favors pleiotropic alleles that have beneficial effects on reproduction early in life even at the cost of survival later in life. Experimental evolution studies in Drosophila have highlighted the existence of tradeoffs between lifespan and reproduction that seem to be consistent with the concept of antagonistic pleiotropy. Selection for increased age at first reproduction, as well as selection for lifespan led to increases in lifespan and reduced early life fecundity in these flies. The underlying physiological cause of tradeoffs has been difficult to study because of the diversity of processes that influence life-history traits. Given that increases in lifespan have widespread influence on reproductive output, molecular geneticists interested in aging have documented survival costs of reproduction in long-lived individuals. Mutations in signaling pathways that couple environmental signals to key physiological processes affect growth, reproduction and lifespan. These studies have provided molecular mechanisms that are excellent candidates for regulating life history traits. However, whether …
author: Remolina, Silvia C.
language: en
keywords: Life-history, Evolution, Genetics, Aging, Drosophila, Apis Mellifera
date published: 2011-08-26T15:24:23Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:25:26Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/26348