Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
Proc Biol Sci. 2011 Jan 7;278(1702):144-51. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.0992. Epub 2010 Jul 21.
Researchers must understand how mutations affect survival at various ages to understand how ageing evolves. Many models linking mutation to age-specific survival have been proposed but there is little evidence to indicate which model is most appropriate. This is a serious problem because the predicted evolutionary endpoints of ageing depend upon the details of the specific model. We apply an explicitly quantitative genetic perspective to the problem. To determine the inheritance of dichotomous traits (such as survival), quantitative genetics has long employed a threshold model. Beginning from first principles, we show how this is the most defensible mutational model for age-specific survival and how this, relative to the standard model, predicts delayed senescence and mortality deceleration at late age. These are commonly observed patterns of ageing that heretofore have required more complicated survival models. We also show how this model can be developed further to unify quantitative genetics and evolutionary demography into a more complete conceptual framework for understanding the evolution of ageing.
研究人员必须了解突变如何影响不同年龄的存活率，才能理解衰老的进化过程。已经提出了许多将突变与特定年龄的存活率联系起来的模型，但几乎没有证据表明哪种模型最合适。这是一个严重的问题，因为衰老的预测进化终点取决于特定模型的细节。我们从一个明确的定量遗传角度来解决这个问题。为了确定二分特征（如生存）的遗传，定量遗传学长期以来一直采用阈值模型。从第一性原理出发，我们展示了这是最合理的用于特定年龄的存活率的突变模型，以及与标准模型相比，它如何预测在老年时衰老延迟和死亡率减缓。这些是常见的衰老模式，迄今为止，这些模式需要更复杂的生存模型。我们还展示了如何进一步发展这个模型，将定量遗传学和进化人口统计学统一到一个更完整的概念框架中，以理解衰老的进化。
