Nutritional ecology and the evolution of aging.

摘要: Abstract Considerable progress has been made in understanding both evolutionary and mechanistic aspects of biological aging, although the two areas remain poorly integrated. We suggest that a greater emphasis on ecology can help to remedy this, by focusing interface between mechanisms environments which they evolved natural selection. Among most salient environment relevant aging is nutrition, yet bulk research nutrition coarsely represented as dietary restriction or caloric restriction, without consideration for how specific components diet, beyond “energy” (the undifferentiated mix macronutrients), are driving observed effects. More recently, it become clear nutrients (notably amino acids) interactions among (i.e., nutritional balance) play important roles biology aging. show method developed ecology, called Geometric Framework understand animals with their environments, explicitly distinguishing calories, individual nutrient balance. Central these models active regulatory responses use mediate variation fitness-related consequences such lifespan reproduction. These homeostatic provide guide researchers link processes context multi-dimensional environment.