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Antagonistic Pleiotropy

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Veggies Taste Bad:

What Is Antagonistic Pleiotropy?

title: "What Is Antagonistic Pleiotropy? - PubMed"
image: "https://cdn.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/persistent/pubmed-meta-image-v2.jpg"
description: "Antagonistic Pleiotropy (AP) is today the best-accepted theory for the evolutionary origin of aging. According to AP theory, aging is a side effect of genes that are selected for their contribution to fertility and other essential components of individual fitness. In this standard view, aging exists …"
url: "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31870250/%3E "

In this standard view, aging exists because the benefits of enhanced fertility early in life are linked logically or physically to the long-term deterioration of the body, and evolution has been compelled to accept the latter as a cost of the former. What is the evidence for this proposition? Indeed, biological aging has sometimes been observed to be genetically associated with enhancement of fertility or survivability early in life, but the association is not universal or consistent.

From https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31870250/

My hypothesis is that aging is selected because of important long-term benefits for the community, but in the short term, individual selection is stronger than group selection.

From https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31870250/

The population is free to shift from (high fertility/short lifespan) to (lower fertility/longer lifespan) as varying environmental conditions demand, without risking population overshoot and collapse.

From https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31870250/

Here, we show that the long-lived age-1(hx546) mutant has reduced fecundity and offspring production in early-life, but increased fecundity, hatching success, and offspring production in late-life compared with wild-type worms under standard conditions. However, reduced early-life performance of long-lived mutant animals was not fully compensated by improved performance in late-life and resulted in reduced individual fitness.

From https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28615498/

Since the strength of selection declines over the life cycles of human and some other organisms, natural selection in these species tends to favor “alleles that have early beneficial effects, but later deleterious effects”.[8]

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antagonistic_pleiotropy_hypothesis

Antagonistic pleiotropy also provides a framework for understanding why many genetic disorders, even those causing life threatening health impacts (e.g. sickle cell anaemia), are found to be relatively prevalent in populations when, seen through the lens of simple evolutionary processes, they should be observed at very low frequencies due to the force of natural selection. Genetic models of populations show that that antagonistic pleiotropy allows genetic disorders to be maintained at reasonably high frequencies “even if the fitness benefits are subtle”.[9] In this sense, antagonistic pleiotropy forms the basis of a “genetic trade-off between different fitness components.”[10]

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antagonistic_pleiotropy_hypothesis
Antagonistic pleiotropy is a concept from evolutionary biology that suggests certain genes may have multiple effects, some beneficial and some detrimental, across different aspects of an organism’s life cycle or physiology. In the context of diet and health, antagonistic pleiotropy can be applied to the debate between eating animals versus a plant-based diet.

  1. Eating Animals:

    • Beneficial Effects: Animal-based diets can provide high-quality protein, essential nutrients like vitamin B12, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids, which are crucial for various bodily functions including muscle growth, neurological health, and cardiovascular health.
    • Detrimental Effects: Animal-based diets have been associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, certain cancers, and type 2 diabetes. They are also linked to environmental issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and water pollution.

  2. Plant-Based Diet:

    • Beneficial Effects: Plant-based diets are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They have been linked to lower risks of chronic diseases like heart disease, certain cancers, and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, they tend to have a lower environmental impact compared to animal-based diets.
    • Detrimental Effects: While plant-based diets can be nutritionally adequate, they may require more careful planning to ensure sufficient intake of certain nutrients like vitamin B12, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, and protein. In some cases, individuals may need to supplement or diversify their food choices to meet their nutritional needs.

In terms of antagonistic pleiotropy, certain genetic factors might predispose individuals to benefit more from one type of diet over the other. For example:

  • Some people may have genetic variants that enable them to efficiently metabolize saturated fats and cholesterol from animal products without adverse health effects.
  • Conversely, others may have genetic variants that make them more susceptible to the negative health impacts of consuming animal products, such as increased cholesterol levels or inflammation.>)

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