Integrated Genetics and Evolution Laboratory (IGEL), Department of Biology, Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana 131029, India.
Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, Pune, Maharashtra 411008, India.
J Evol Biol. 2024 Oct 10;37(10):1148-1157. doi: 10.1093/jeb/voae097.
Locomotor activity is one of the major traits that is affected by age. Greater locomotor activity is also known to evolve in the course of dispersal evolution. However, the impact of dispersal evolution on the functional senescence of locomotor activity is largely unknown. We addressed this knowledge gap using large outbred populations of Drosophila melanogaster selected for increased dispersal. We tracked locomotor activity of these flies at regular intervals until a late age. The longevity of these flies was also recorded. We found that locomotor activity declines with age in general. However interestingly, the activity level of dispersal-selected populations never drops below the ancestry-matched controls, despite the rate of age-dependent decline in activity of the dispersal-selected populations being greater than their respective controls. The dispersal-selected population was also found to have a shorter lifespan as compared to its control, a potential cost of elevated level of activity throughout their life. These results are crucial in the context of invasion biology as contemporary climate change, habitat degradation, and destruction provide congenial conditions for dispersal evolution. Such controlled and tractable studies investigating the ageing pattern of important functional traits are important in the field of biogerontology as well.
运动活动是受年龄影响的主要特征之一。众所周知，在扩散进化过程中，运动活动也会增加。然而，扩散进化对运动活动功能衰老的影响在很大程度上是未知的。我们使用经过选择以增加扩散能力的黑腹果蝇的大型杂交种群来解决这一知识空白。我们定期跟踪这些果蝇的运动活动，直到它们进入老年。这些果蝇的寿命也被记录下来。我们发现，运动活动通常会随着年龄的增长而下降。然而，有趣的是，尽管扩散选择种群的活动随年龄下降的速度大于其各自的对照种群，但它们的活动水平从未低于与祖先相匹配的对照种群。与对照种群相比，扩散选择种群的寿命也更短，这可能是其一生高水平活动的代价。这些结果在入侵生物学方面至关重要，因为当代气候变化、生境退化和破坏为扩散进化提供了有利条件。在生物老年学领域，这种对重要功能特征的衰老模式进行的可控和可追踪的研究也很重要。
