The Effect of Post-Reproductive Lifespan on the Fixation Probability of Beneficial Mutations

Stefano Giaimo and Annette Baudisch

PLOS ONE, 2015, vol. 10, issue 7, 1-8

Abstract: Post-reproductive lifespan is a common trait among mammals and is usually considered to be neutral; i.e. with no influence on population dynamics. Here, we explore the role of post-reproductive lifespan in the fixation probability of beneficial genetic variation. We compare two separate, stationary populations living in a constant environment that are equivalent except for the average time their respective members spend in the post-reproductive stage of life. Using a recently derived approximation, we show that fixation of a beneficial mutation is more likely in the population with greater post-reproductive longevity. This finding is surprising, as the population with more prolonged post-reproductive lifespan has smaller effective size and the classic population-genetic model would suggest that decreasing effective size reduces fixation chances of beneficial mutations. Yet, as we explain, in the age-structured case, when effective size gets smaller because of longer post-reproductive lifespan but census size is kept equal, a beneficial mutation has a higher likelihood to get fixed because it finds itself at higher initial frequency.

Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0133820

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133820

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