Antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis

Definition

The antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis (APT) is a theory in evolutionary biology that suggests certain genes may confer beneficial effects early in an organism's life, enhancing survival or fertility, while also causing detrimental effects later in life, thereby contributing to the ageing process. APT provides an explanation of how some genes are not eliminated by natural selection even though they are associated with catastrophic health outcomes, especially in older age.

Related concepts

Abiogenesis Adaptation Adaptive mutation Adaptive radiation Ageing Allele Allopatric speciation Alternatives to Darwinian evolution Altruism (biology)Alzheimer's disease Anagenesis Anisogamy Annual plant Apolipoprotein E Apoptosis Astrobiology Atherosclerosis Baldwin effect Beta thalassemia Biodiversity Biogeography Biological immortality Biological life cycle Biological process Blending inheritance CGK733 fraud Canalisation (genetics)Cancer Canidae Cat gap Catabiosis Catagenesis (biology)Catastrophism Cell nucleus Charles Darwin Cheating (biology)Chromosome Cladistics Cladogenesis Coevolution Common descent Convergent evolution Cooperation (evolution)Cospeciation Cultural evolution Cultural group selection Cystic fibrosis DNA damage theory of aging DNA repair Darwinism David Hume Death Deep time Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Dinosaur Disposable soma theory of aging Divergent evolution Domestication of the dog Dual inheritance theory Earliest known life forms Ecological genetics Ecological speciation Empathy Endomembrane system Erythranthe Eukaryote Evidence of common descent Evolution Evolution of Macropodidae Evolution of ageing Evolution of bacteria Evolution of biological complexity Evolution of birds Evolution of brachiopods Evolution of butterflies Evolution of cells Evolution of cephalopods Evolution of cetaceans Evolution of color vision Evolution of color vision in primates Evolution of emotion Evolution of eusociality Evolution of fish Evolution of flagella Evolution of fungi Evolution of insects Evolution of lemurs Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles Evolution of mammals Evolution of molluscs Evolution of morality Evolution of nervous systems Evolution of primates Evolution of reptiles Evolution of sexual reproduction Evolution of sirenians Evolution of snake venom Evolution of spiders Evolution of tetrapods Evolution of the brain Evolution of the eye Evolution of the horse Evolution of the wolf Evolutionarily stable strategy Evolutionary arms race Evolutionary biology Evolutionary developmental biology Evolutionary ethics Evolutionary history of plants Evolutionary ideas of the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment Evolutionary invasion analysis Evolutionary medicine Evolutionary mismatch Evolutionary pressure Evolutionary taxonomy Evolutionary tradeoff Exaptation Extended evolutionary synthesis Extinction Extinction event Fecundity Fisher's principle Fitness (biology)Free-radical theory of aging Gene Gene-centered view of evolution Gene flow Genetic assimilation Genetic disorder Genetic drift Genetic variation George C. Williams (biologist)Group selection Growth hormone receptor Haemoglobin Hair Handicap principle Hayflick limit History of evolutionary thought History of life History of molecular evolution History of paleontology Hologenome theory of evolution Homology (biology)Human evolution Huntingtin Huntington's disease Hybrid (biology)Hybrid speciation Hyena Immune system Immunosenescence Inbreeding avoidance Inclusive fitness Indefinite lifespan Index of evolutionary biology articles Introduction to evolution Inversion (evolutionary biology)Kin recognition Kin selection Lamarckism Laron syndrome Last universal common ancestor Life extension List of longest-living organisms Macroevolution Malaria Mate choice Mating type Maximum life span Mendelian inheritance Metabolism Microevolution Missing heritability problem Mitochondrion Models of DNA evolution Modern synthesis (20th century)Modularity (biology)Molecular evolution Monogamy in animals Mosaic evolution Multicellular organism Mutation Mutation accumulation theory Mutationism Mutualism (biology)Natural selection Negligible senescence Neo-Darwinism Network theory of aging Neurodegenerative Neutral theory of molecular evolution Nonadaptive radiation Nonecological speciation Nonsense mutation On the Origin of Species Organ (biology)Origin and function of meiosis Origin of avian flight Origin of birds Orthogenesis Outline of evolution P53 Panspermia Parallel evolution Parapatric speciation Parental investment Parent–offspring conflict Peripatric speciation Peter Medawar Phenotypic plasticity Phenotypic trait Phyletic gradualism Phylogenetic tree Phylogenetics Plant senescence Plastid Pleiotropy Point mutation Pollinator-mediated selection Polymorphism (biology)Population (biology)Population genetics Programmed cell death Protocell Punctuated equilibrium Reciprocal altruism Red Queen hypothesis Red blood cell Regeneration (biology)Reinforcement (speciation)Rejuvenation (aging)Reliability theory of aging and longevity Saltation (biology)Selection shadow Selective breeding Senescence Sex-determination system Sexual dimorphism Sexual selection Sexual selection in flowering plants Sexual selection in fungi Sickle cell disease Signalling theory Social selection Spandrel (biology)Speciation Species Species complex Splice site mutation Stem cell theory of aging Strategies for engineered negligible senescence Structuralism (biology)Symbiogenesis Sympatric speciation Systematics Taxon Teleology in biology Teleonomy Tempo and Mode in Evolution The eclipse of Darwinism Theistic evolution Timeline of the evolutionary history of life Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance Transitional fossil Transmutation of species Trivers–Willard hypothesis Uniformitarianism Unit of selection Vicar of Bray (scientific hypothesis)Viral evolution Vitalism Zygosity

68 concepts already in your glossary