Researchers used computer models to investigate the evolutionary role of aging. They challenge the notion that aging has no positive effects and suggest that aging may promote evolution in a changing environment, thereby benefiting subsequent generations. I am. Their findings indicate that aging may be an advantageous trait selected by natural evolution. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
The mysteries of aging have fascinated people for thousands of years. Because aging is usually associated with a gradual decline in most bodily functions, many people are willing to do anything to stop or reverse this process. Aging is a natural part of life, but biologists understand surprisingly little about the evolutionary emergence of this process. It’s not clear whether aging is inevitable. That’s because there are some organisms that never seem to age at all, and there is also a phenomenon known as negative aging or rejuvenation. In some turtles, vital functions improve with age.
Studying the evolutionary role of aging
Researchers at the Institute for Evolution, led by scholar Airs Zatmary, have sought to debunk previously proposed but unproven theories of aging. This theory suggests that, under the right circumstances, evolution can encourage the proliferation of genes that control aging.
To test their hypothesis, the researchers used a computer model they developed. This model is an algorithm that allows scientists to simulate long-term processes in populations of organisms and genes in a controlled environment. Essentially, such models allow you to run evolutionary scenarios and get results in hours instead of millions of years. Modern evolutionary research is unthinkable without computer modeling.
Exploring the purpose of aging
The basic research question was simple. The question was, “Is there any meaning to aging?” Does it serve some evolutionary function or is it truly a bitter and deadly byproduct of life? “If there is selection for aging, then aging may have an evolutionary function. Our study aimed to reveal this selection,” he says Eörs Szathmáry. “According to the classical explanation, aging occurs in a population even without selection. It is because individuals die sooner or later without aging (as a result of disease or accidents), This creates an opportunity for genes to accumulate that have a negative effect on older individuals (thus causing aging), meaning that aging is only a side effect of evolution. It means that there is no adaptive function.”
Challenging common sense
During the last century, several evolutionary theories have been formulated to explain inevitable aging without active functions using different biological mechanisms. Although some scientists accepted this assumption as fact, the discovery of organisms that do not age led more and more researchers to question the inevitability of aging and to suggest that perhaps aging has benefits as well. I suggested that it might be.
“The evolutionary biology community has accepted that classical non-adaptive theories of aging cannot explain all aging patterns in nature, meaning that the explanation of aging has once again become an open question. “I mean,” Zatomary said. “Alternative adaptation theories provide a solution to this problem by suggesting positive effects of aging. For example, aging and death may be more advantageous for individuals in a changing environment. This is because doing so reduces competition that prevents the survival and reproduction of more fit offspring with a better genetic makeup.
However, this scenario is only true if the individual is surrounded primarily by relatives. Otherwise, during sexual reproduction, non-senescent individuals would “steal” better (better adapted to environmental changes) genes from aging population members, thus erasing significant senescence.
Aging as a catalyst for evolution
Hungarian biologists ran a model and found that aging can actually accelerate evolution. This is an advantage in a changing world. Faster adaptation allows us to find suitable traits faster, which supports the survival and spread of offspring genes. This means that aging can become a highly advantageous trait and be favored by natural selection.
Reference: András Siraj, Tamash Charan, Mauro Santos, Airs Zatmary, “Directional selection combined with kin selection favors the establishment of senescence”, October 23, 2023. BMC biology.
DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01716-w
Funding: National Agency for Research, Development and Innovation (Hungary), Bolyai János Research Fellowship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, New National Excellence Program of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Autonomous Region of Catalonia 2021 Special Guest Scientist Volkswagen Foundation, Hungary Fellowship Program of the Academy of Sciences (Initiative “Leben?
Source: scitechdaily.com
