Maternal effect senescence and caloric restriction interact to affect fitness through changes in life history timing.

Christina M Hernández, Silke F van Daalen, Alyssa Liguori, Michael G Neubert, Hal Caswell, Kristin E Gribble

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

Environmental factors and individual attributes, and their interactions, impact survival, growth and reproduction of an individual throughout its life. In the clonal rotifer Brachionus, low food conditions delay reproduction and extend lifespan. This species also exhibits maternal effect senescence; the offspring of older mothers have lower survival and reproductive output. In this paper, we explored the population consequences of the individual-level interaction of maternal age and low food availability. We built matrix population models for both ad libitum and low food treatments, in which individuals are classified both by their age and maternal age. Low food conditions reduced population growth rate (

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Research summary

The paper investigates the interaction between maternal age and environmental factors on fitness and lifespan in a model organism, which is relevant to understanding aging processes. However, while it provides insights into life history strategies and population dynamics, the findings are more incremental and do not significantly advance the broader field of longevity research or address root causes of aging.

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