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Review
. 2021 Oct 18:9:704966.
doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.704966. eCollection 2021.

Lifespan Extension in Long-Lived Vertebrates Rooted in Ecological Adaptation

Olatunde Omotoso  1   2 , Vadim N Gladyshev  3 , Xuming Zhou  1
Affiliations
Review

Lifespan Extension in Long-Lived Vertebrates Rooted in Ecological Adaptation

Olatunde Omotoso et al. Front Cell Dev Biol. .

Abstract

Contemporary studies on aging and longevity have largely overlooked the role that adaptation plays in lifespan variation across species. Emerging evidence indicates that the genetic signals of extended lifespan may be maintained by natural selection, suggesting that longevity could be a product of organismal adaptation. The mechanisms of adaptation in long-lived animals are believed to account for the modification of physiological function. Here, we first review recent progress in comparative biology of long-lived animals, together with the emergence of adaptive genetic factors that control longevity and disease resistance. We then propose that hitchhiking of adaptive genetic changes is the basis for lifespan changes and suggest ways to test this evolutionary model. As individual adaptive or adaptation-linked mutations/substitutions generate specific forms of longevity effects, the cumulative beneficial effect is largely nonrandom and is indirectly favored by natural selection. We consider this concept in light of other proposed theories of aging and integrate these disparate ideas into an adaptive evolutionary model, highlighting strategies in decoding genetic factors of lifespan control.

Keywords: adaptive-hitchhiking; aging; evolution theory; longevity; natural selection.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The handling editor declared a past co-authorship with one of the authors VNG.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Environmental and morphological contributions to an extended lifespan.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Adaptive-hitchhike model of animal longevity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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