Evolution of age-specific decline in stress phenotypes is driven by both antagonistic pleiotropy and mutation accumulation

Abstract

Efforts to more fully understand and test evolutionary theories of aging have produced distinct predictions for mutation accumulation (MA) and antagonistic pleiotropy (AP) mechanisms. We build on these predictions through the use of association mapping and investigation of the change in additive effects of polymorphisms across age and among traits for multiple stress response phenotypes. We found that cold stress survival with acclimation, cold stress survival without acclimation, and starvation resistance declined with age and that changes in the genetic architecture of each phenotype were consistent with MA predictions. We used a novel test for MA and AP by calculating the additive effect of polymorphisms across ages and found support for both MA and AP mechanisms in the age-related decline in stress tolerance. These patterns suggest both MA and AP contribute to age-related change in stress response and highlight the utility of association mapping to identify genetic shifts across age.