Cutler R G
Mech Ageing Dev. 1979 Feb;9(3-4):337-54. doi: 10.1016/0047-6374(79)90110-6.
Evolution of longevity of the ungulates, carnivores and primates is reviewed. Special emphasis is focused on recent evolutionary history of longevity along the hominid ancestral-descendant sequence leading to modern man. Maximum life span potential (MLP) or the change in MLP is predicted in extinct species by (1) a phylogenetic analysis of the MLP of present living species and (2) an empirical equation using brain and body weight estimates from fossils. Both of these methods indicate MLP generally increased during mammalian evolution and at an extremely fast rate during the appearance of the hominid species. These results suggest that relatively few genetic alterations were necessary during the recent evolutionary history of man to significantly extend his innate ability to maintain mental and physical health. Much evidence indicates these genetic alterations principally involve regulatory genes, which control a conserved set of structural genes. Evolution of longevity in man could therefore be a result of simple changes in temporal and quantitative expression. Whether these genetic alterations result from mutational changes and/or chromosomal rearrangement cannot yet be evaluated.
本文综述了有蹄类动物、食肉动物和灵长类动物寿命的演化。特别强调了沿着导致现代人的原始人类祖先-后代序列的寿命近期演化历史。通过以下两种方法预测已灭绝物种的最大寿命潜力（MLP）或MLP的变化：（1）对现存物种的MLP进行系统发育分析，以及（2）使用从化石估计的脑重和体重的经验方程。这两种方法均表明，在哺乳动物演化过程中，MLP总体上有所增加，而在原始人类物种出现期间增加速度极快。这些结果表明，在人类近期的演化历史中，相对较少的基因改变就足以显著延长其维持身心健康的先天能力。许多证据表明，这些基因改变主要涉及调控基因，这些调控基因控制着一组保守的结构基因。因此，人类寿命的演化可能是时间和定量表达简单变化的结果。这些基因改变是否源于突变变化和/或染色体重排尚无法评估。
