Dispersal capacity explains the evolution of lifespan variability.

ABSTRACT: The evolutionary explanation for lifespan variation is still based on the antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis, which has been challenged by several studies. Alternative models assume the existence of genes that favor aging and group benefits at the expense of reductions in individual lifespans. Here we propose a new model without making such assumptions. It considers that limited dispersal can generate, through reduced gene flow, spatial segregation of individual organisms according to lifespan. Individuals from subpopulations with shorter lifespan could thus resist collapse in a growing population better than individuals from subpopulations with longer lifespan, hence reducing lifespan variability within species. As species that disperse less may form more homogeneous subpopulations regard

SUBMITTER: Galvan I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5980329 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature