Life-history evolution and the polyphenic regulation of somatic maintenance and survival.
Details
Serval ID
serval:BIB_AD6ABA495ABC
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Publication sub-type
Review (review): journal as complete as possible of one specific subject, written based on exhaustive analyses from published work.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Life-history evolution and the polyphenic regulation of somatic maintenance and survival.
Journal
Quarterly Review of Biology
ISSN
0033-5770 (Print)
ISSN-L
0033-5770
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2013
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
88
Number
3
Pages
185-218
Language
english
Abstract
Here we discuss life-history evolution from the perspective of adaptive phenotypic plasticity, with a focus on polyphenisms for somatic maintenance and survival. Polyphenisms are adaptive discrete alternative phenotypes that develop in response to changes in the environment. We suggest that dauer larval diapause and its associated adult phenotypes in the nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans), reproductive dormancy in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and other insects, and the worker castes of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) are examples of what may be viewed as the polyphenic regulation of somatic maintenance and survival. In these and other cases, the same genotype can--depending upon its environment--express either of two alternative sets of life-history phenotypes that differ markedly with respect to somatic maintenance, survival ability, and thus life span. This plastic modulation of somatic maintenance and survival has traditionally been underappreciated by researchers working on aging and life history. We review the current evidence for such adaptive life-history switches and their molecular regulation and suggest that they are caused by temporally and/or spatially varying, stressful environments that impose diversifying selection, thereby favoring the evolution of plasticity of somatic maintenance and survival under strong regulatory control. By considering somatic maintenance and survivorship from the perspective of adaptive life-history switches, we may gain novel insights into the mechanisms and evolution of aging.
Keywords
Aging/genetics, Animals, Bees, Biological Evolution, Drosophila melanogaster, Environment, Life Cycle Stages/genetics, Longevity/genetics, Nematoda, Phenotype, Reproduction/genetics, Survival/physiology
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
10/04/2013 11:21
Last modification date
20/08/2019 16:17