The longevity bottleneck hypothesis: Could dinosaurs have shaped ageing in present‐day mammals?

João Pedro de Magalhães*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

The evolution and biodiversity of ageing have long fascinated scientists and the public alike. While mammals, including long‐lived species such as humans, show a marked ageing process, some species of reptiles and amphibians exhibit very slow and even the absence of ageing phenotypes. How can reptiles and other vertebrates age slower than mammals? Herein, I propose that evolving during the rule of the dinosaurs left a lasting legacy in mammals. For over 100 million years when dinosaurs were the dominant predators, mammals were generally small, nocturnal, and short‐lived. My hypothesis is that such a long evolutionary pressure on early mammals for rapid reproduction led to the loss or inactivation of genes and pathways associated with long life. I call this the ‘longevity bottleneck hypothesis’, which is further supported by the absence in mammals of regenerative traits. Although mammals, such as humans, can evolve long lifespans, they do so under constraints dating to the dinosaur era.
Original languageEnglish
Article number2300098
Number of pages5
JournalBioEssays
Early online date28 Nov 2023
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 28 Nov 2023

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgments:
I am grateful to Daniela Tejada-Martinez for critical comments on a previous draft of the manuscript. Work in our lab is supported by grants from the Wellcome Trust, Longevity Impetus Grants, LongeCity and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Keywords

  • reptiles
  • life history
  • negligible senescence
  • evolution of ageing
  • DNA repair

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