Plasticity of lifespan: a reaction norm perspective.

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_870FB044D8C0
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Plasticity of lifespan: a reaction norm perspective.
Journal
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
Author(s)
Flatt T.
ISSN
1475-2719 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0029-6651
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2014
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
73
Number
4
Pages
532-542
Language
english
Abstract
It is a well-appreciated fact that in many organisms the process of ageing reacts highly plastically, so that lifespan increases or decreases when the environment changes. The perhaps best-known example of such lifespan plasticity is dietary restriction (DR), a phenomenon whereby reduced food intake without malnutrition extends lifespan (typically at the expense of reduced fecundity) and which has been documented in numerous species, from invertebrates to mammals. For the evolutionary biologist, DR and other cases of lifespan plasticity are examples of a more general phenomenon called phenotypic plasticity, the ability of a single genotype to produce different phenotypes (e.g. lifespan) in response to changes in the environment (e.g. changes in diet). To analyse phenotypic plasticity, evolutionary biologists (and epidemiologists) often use a conceptual and statistical framework based on reaction norms (genotype-specific response curves) and genotype × environment interactions (G × E; differences in the plastic response among genotypes), concepts that biologists who are working on molecular aspects of ageing are usually not familiar with. Here I briefly discuss what has been learned about lifespan plasticity or, more generally, about plasticity of somatic maintenance and survival ability. In particular, I argue that adopting the conceptual framework of reaction norms and G × E interactions, as used by evolutionary biologists, is crucially important for our understanding of the mechanisms underlying DR and other forms of lifespan or survival plasticity.
Keywords
Lifespan, Ageing, Phenotypic plasticity, Reaction norms, Genotype x environment interactions, Dietary restriction, Nutritional geometry
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
16/10/2014 12:56
Last modification date
14/02/2022 7:55
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