Deleterious mutations show increasing negative effects with age in Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In order for aging to evolve in response to a declining strength of selection with age, a genetic architecture that allows for mutations with age-specific effects on organismal performance is required. Our understanding of how selective effects of individual mutations are distributed across ages is however poor. Established evolutionary theories assume that mutations causing aging have negative late-life effects, coupled to either positive or neutral effects early in life. New theory now suggests evolution of aging may also result from deleterious mutations with increasing negative effects with age, a possibility that has not yet been empirically explored.

Results

To directly test how the effects of deleterious mutations are distributed across ages, we separately

SUBMITTER: Brengdahl MI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7526172 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature