Cost-free lifespan extension via optimization of gene expression in adulthood aligns with the developmental theory of ageing
| Autor: | Elizabeth M. L. Duxbury, Martin I. Lind, Alexei A. Maklakov, Edward Ivimey-Cook, Hanne Carlsson |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Senescence Aging senescence Evolution media_common.quotation_subject Longevity Gene Expression Biology developmental theory of ageing Evolution of ageing 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Evolutionsbiologi 03 medical and health sciences RNA interference Animals life-history evolution Caenorhabditis elegans Gene 030304 developmental biology General Environmental Science media_common Evolutionary Biology 0303 health sciences Gene knockdown General Immunology and Microbiology Reproduction General Medicine biology.organism_classification Ageing Evolutionary biology ageing General Agricultural and Biological Sciences lifespan Research Article |
| Zdroj: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
| ISSN: | 1471-2954 0962-8452 |
| Popis: | Ageing evolves because the force of selection on traits declines with age but the proximate causes of ageing are incompletely understood. The ‘disposable soma’ theory of ageing (DST) upholds that competitive resource allocation between reproduction and somatic maintenance underpins the evolution of ageing and lifespan. In contrast, the developmental theory of ageing (DTA) suggests that organismal senescence is caused by suboptimal gene expression in adulthood. While the DST predicts the trade-off between reproduction and lifespan, the DTA predicts that age-specific optimization of gene expression can increase lifespan without reproduction costs. Here we investigated the consequences for lifespan, reproduction, egg size and individual fitness of early-life, adulthood and post-reproductive onset of RNAi knockdown of five ‘longevity’ genes involved in key biological processes in Caenorhabditis elegans . Downregulation of these genes in adulthood and/or during post-reproductive period increases lifespan, while we found limited evidence for a link between impaired reproduction and extended lifespan. Our findings demonstrate that suboptimal gene expression in adulthood often contributes to reduced lifespan directly rather than through competitive resource allocation between reproduction and somatic maintenance. Therefore, age-specific optimization of gene expression in evolutionarily conserved signalling pathways that regulate organismal life histories can increase lifespan without fitness costs. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|