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Patten MM, Schenkel MA, Ågren JA. Adaptation in the face of internal conflict: the paradox of the organism revisited. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:1796-1811. [PMID: 37203364 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The paradox of the organism refers to the observation that organisms appear to function as coherent purposeful entities, despite the potential for within-organismal components like selfish genetic elements and cancer cells to erode them from within. While it is commonly accepted that organisms may pursue fitness maximisation and can be thought to hold particular agendas, there is a growing recognition that genes and cells do so as well. This can lead to evolutionary conflicts between an organism and the parts that reside within it. Here, we revisit the paradox of the organism. We first outline its conception and relationship to debates about adaptation in evolutionary biology. Second, we review the ways selfish elements may exploit organisms, and the extent to which this threatens organismal integrity. To this end, we introduce a novel classification scheme that distinguishes between selfish elements that seek to distort transmission versus those that seek to distort phenotypic traits. Our classification scheme also highlights how some selfish elements elude a multi-level selection decomposition using the Price equation. Third, we discuss how the organism can retain its status as the primary fitness-maximising agent in the face of selfish elements. The success of selfish elements is often constrained by their strategy and further limited by a combination of fitness alignment and enforcement mechanisms controlled by the organism. Finally, we argue for the need for quantitative measures of both internal conflicts and organismality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manus M Patten
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, 37th and O St. NW, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Martijn A Schenkel
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, 37th and O St. NW, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
- Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - J Arvid Ågren
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, Uppsala, 752 36, Sweden
- Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA
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Úbeda F, Wild G. Microchimerism as a source of information on future pregnancies. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231142. [PMID: 37608718 PMCID: PMC10445024 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Small numbers of fetal cells cross the placenta during pregnancy turning mothers into microchimeras. Fetal cells from all previous pregnancies accumulate forming the mother's fetal microchiome. What is significant about microchimeric cells is that they have been linked to health problems including reproductive and autoimmune diseases. Three decades after the discovery of fetal microchimerism, the function of these cells remains a mystery. Here, we contend that the role of microchimeric cells is to inform the fetus about the likelihood that its genes are present in future pregnancies. We argue that, when genes are more likely than average to be in future maternal siblings, fetuses will send a fixed number of cells that will not elicit a maternal immune response against them. However, when genes are less likely to be in future maternal siblings, fetuses will send an ever-increasing number of cells that will elicit an ever-stronger maternal immune response. Our work can explain the observed clinical association between microchimeric cells and pre-eclampsia. However, our work predicts that this association should be stronger in women with a genetically diverse microchiome. If supported by medical tests, our work would allow establishing the likelihood of pregnancy or autoimmune problems advising medical interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Úbeda
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Geoff Wild
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
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Hitchcock TJ, Gardner A. Paternal genome elimination promotes altruism in viscous populations. Evolution 2022; 76:2191-2198. [PMID: 35902334 PMCID: PMC9543263 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Population viscosity has long been thought to promote the evolution of altruism. However, in the simplest scenarios, the potential for altruism is invariant with respect to dispersal-a surprising result that holds for haploidy, diploidy, and haplodiploidy (arrhenotoky). Here, we develop a kin-selection model to investigate how population viscosity affects the potential for altruism in species with male paternal genome elimination (PGE), exploring altruism enacted by both females and males, and both juveniles and adults. We find that (1) PGE promotes altruistic behaviors relative to the other inheritance systems, and to a degree that depends on the extent of paternal genome expression. (2) Under PGE, dispersal increases the potential for altruism in juveniles and decreases it in adults. (3) The genetics of PGE can lead to striking differences in sex-specific potentials for altruism, even in the absence of any sex differences in ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andy Gardner
- School of BiologyUniversity of St AndrewsSt AndrewsKY16 9THUnited Kingdom
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Frye BM, McCoy DE, Kotler J, Embury A, Burkart JM, Burns M, Eyre S, Galbusera P, Hooper J, Idoe A, Goya AL, Mickelberg J, Quesada MP, Stevenson M, Sullivan S, Warneke M, Wojciechowski S, Wormell D, Haig D, Tardif SD. After short interbirth intervals, captive callitrichine monkeys have higher infant mortality. iScience 2022; 25:103724. [PMID: 35072012 PMCID: PMC8762461 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Life history theory predicts a trade-off between the quantity and quality of offspring. Short interbirth intervals-the time between successive births-may increase the quantity of offspring but harm offspring quality. In contrast, long interbirth intervals may bolster offspring quality while reducing overall reproductive output. Further research is needed to determine whether this relationship holds among primates, which have intensive parental investment. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we examined the effects of interbirth intervals (short, normal, or long) on infant survivorship using a large demographic dataset (n = 15,852) of captive callitrichine monkeys (marmosets, tamarins, and lion tamarins). In seven of the nine species studied, infants born after short interbirth intervals had significantly higher risks of mortality than infants born after longer interbirth intervals. These results suggest that reproduction in callitrichine primates may be limited by physiologic constraints, such that short birth spacing drives higher infant mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett M. Frye
- Department of Biology, Emory & Henry College, Emory, VA 24327, USA,Corresponding author
| | - Dakota E. McCoy
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA,Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Jennifer Kotler
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA,Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Amanda Embury
- Department of Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Judith M. Burkart
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Monika Burns
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Simon Eyre
- Wellington Zoo, Newtown, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Peter Galbusera
- Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA), Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jacqui Hooper
- Wellington Zoo, Newtown, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Arun Idoe
- Apenheul Primate Park, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
| | | | | | | | | | - Sara Sullivan
- Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, IL 60513, USA
| | - Mark Warneke
- Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, IL 60513, USA
| | | | - Dominic Wormell
- Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Jersey, Channel Islands, UK
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Suzette D. Tardif
- Southwest National Primate Research Center, San Antonio, TX 78245, USA
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