Evolution of aging illustrated by long- and short-living snakes of the same species

A. Bronikowski’s laboratory studies mechanisms of action of «aging genes» in reptiles, and mechanisms allowing reptiles avoid physiological aging. The research on widely distributed reptile species, which belong the family Colubridae, was aimed at finding out whether physiological parameters and the level of locomotor activity (this level correlates with survival rate of young snakes) reflected the evolution of life span in those reptiles. It should be noted that general metabolic level and mitochondrial efficiency did not depend on the life span. Further researches have revealed that innate immunity was higher in snakes of short-living ecotype. And that difference could not be explained by the state of parasitic invasion in those ecotypes. Moreover, both ecotypes revealed positive correlation between immunity and body size/age. It was found that long-living snakes (more than 15 years) had higher locomotor activity and lowered level of peroxide production as compared to short-living ones (less than 10 years).

Place of employment — Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, USA.

Contacts — 253 Bessey Hall Iowa State UniversityAmes, Iowa 50011(515) 294-0133abroniko@iastate.edu .

Publications — Evolution of senescence in nature: physiological evolution in populations of garter snake with divergent life histories. Robert KA, Bronikowski AM. Am Nat. 2010 Feb;175(2):147–59.Evolutionary ecology of endocrine-mediated life-history variation in the garter snake Thamnophis elegans. Sparkman AM, Vleck CM, Bronikowski AM. Ecology. 2009 Mar;90(3):720–8.