The Role of Parental Age Effects on the Evolution of Aging

Abstract

Many studies have found that older parents have shorter-lived offspring. However, the evolutionary significance of these findings is poorly understood. We carried out large-scale demographic experiments to examine the direct effect of maternal age and paternal age on offspring aging in inbred and outbred strains of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. We found that the age of mothers and, to a lesser extent, the age of fathers can have a large influence on both offspring longevity and the shape of the age-specific mortality trajectory. In two independent experiments we found that older mothers generally produced shorter-lived offspring, although the exact effect of maternal age on offspring longevity differed among strains. These results suggest that maternal age effects on progeny aging may influence the evolution of aging.

Functional response of the predator Scolothrips takahashii to hawthorn spider mite, Tetranychus viennensis: effect of age and temperature

“…However, previous studies focused mainly on the effects of maternal and paternal age, age-specific fecundity, and foraging behavior (Ponsonby and Copland, 1998;Priest et al, 2002;Dixon and Agarwala, 2002;Srivastava and Omkar, 2004), and few studies regarding the effects of ageing on the functional response of predatory insect have been published thus far. Ambrose et al (1996) reported a linear relationship between predator (Rhynocoris marginatus F.) (Heteroptera: Reduvidae) age and the number of prey killed.…”

The song of the old mother: Reproductive senescence in female drosophila

“…In 5 of 6 experimental lines (2 outbred and 4 inbred lines), increasing maternal age corresponded with decreased lifespan of daughters. 83 Additional experiments also found that increasing parental age (both male and female) corresponded with decreased adult offspring longevity. 84,85 Older females also have offspring with decreased developmental stability, as reflected in increased asymmetry in sterno-pleural chaeta number, which corresponds with decreased offspring viability and longevity.…”

Stem cell aging in the Drosophila ovary

“…Preliminary observations suggest an increased frequency of thin and otherwise abnormal eggshells during aging (unpublished data). Defects in either germ-line or somatic stem cells could contribute to the observed declines in viability of eggs and progeny from old females (Kern et al 2001;Priest et al 2002).…”