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Author Spotlight: Automated Lifespan Monitoring – Discovering Aging Dynamics with the Lifespan Machine
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The coevolution of lifespan and reversible plasticity
Irja I Ratikainen1,2, Hanna Kokko3
1Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Høgskoleringen 5, NO-7491, Trondheim, Norway. irja.i.ratikainen@ntnu.no.
Nature Communications
|February 3, 2019
Summary
Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to adapt to changing environments. This study reveals a bidirectional relationship between plasticity and lifespan, where plasticity can also drive longer life.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Gerontology
- Ecology
Background:
- Reversible phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to adjust traits throughout life, potentially mitigating aging (senescence).
- Previous research often assumed a one-way relationship: environmental change drives plasticity and life history.
- Understanding the interplay between plasticity and lifespan is crucial for evolutionary and aging research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the bidirectional evolutionary relationship between reversible phenotypic plasticity and lifespan.
- To determine if plasticity can actively select for longevity, not just be a consequence of it.
- To model how environmental variation influences the evolution of both plasticity and lifespan.
Main Methods:
- Developed an evolutionary model incorporating reversible phenotypic plasticity and lifespan as evolving traits.
- Simulated populations in environments with varying degrees of temporal autocorrelation (predictability).
- Analyzed the selective pressures on plasticity and lifespan under different environmental regimes.
Main Results:
- Bidirectional causality exists: plasticity can indeed select for increased lifespan.
- Highly predictable environments favor low plasticity and shorter lifespans due to trait-environment mismatch.
- Unpredictable environments may select for higher plasticity and potentially longer lifespans, but this depends on other factors.
Conclusions:
- Lifespan and reversible phenotypic plasticity are not independently evolved; they exert reciprocal selective pressures.
- Environmental predictability is a key factor mediating the evolution of plasticity and lifespan.
- The evolution of longevity may be influenced by the adaptive potential conferred by phenotypic plasticity.
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