Michael
R. Rose Michael
R. Rose
Professor
Evolutionary Biology of Aging; Evolutionary Genetics
Email address: mrrose@uci.edu
Why do organisms that have undergone an elaborate process of growth and differentiation to achieve reproductive maturity then proceed to deteriorate, some slowly but some rapidly, over the rest of their lives? This phenomenon of aging is one of the great paradoxes of life, one that has been resolved only in the last ten years. Then again, following Aristotle's comments more than two millennia ago, is this aging related to the health of the young organism, or are youthful function and senescence independent of each other? Put another way, how is fitness connected to aging in the overall determination of life-history?
These are questions that can be answered both theoretically and experimentally. My major scientific focus over the last fifteen years has been experimental tests of evolutionary theories for the evolution of aging, fitness, life-histories, etc., on Drosophila melanogaster, although I collaborate with other investigators using different species. We have experimentally tested the general theory that aging evolves because of a decline in the force of selection with adult age. Another major theme in our work has been the degree to which the population genetics of life-history and deleterious effects at other ages - that is, "trade-offs." We have also been investigating the physiological basis of genetic variation in life-histories.
Among our most important findings are that the biology of aging can be well-explained by the evolutionary theory of aging. In addition, the application of that evolutionary theory can help to unravel the physiological mechanisms of aging. To be more concrete, in our Drosophila system, one of the major limiting factors for later survival and reproduction is the storage of calories in the form of lipid or glycogen. We have managed to double lifespan in fly populations by the use of selection. We have also found that virginity and dietary restriction can be used to postpone aging. We have had some success with the population genetics of postponed aging: out of some 100 or more loci that may be involved, we are on the trail of about ten genes. We are trying to identify these genes so that we can analyze their effects more precisely.
I have also taken up theoretical problems from time to time. Prominent among these are the evolution of genetic systems, especially mechanisms of speciation, the origin of sex, and the maintenance of sex in the face of invading parthenogens. I have also worked on evolutionary game theory, particularly applications to hominid evolution and to the behavior of pathological humans. My inclinations as a theoretician are to start from a novel biological hypothesis, rather than a specific mathematical tool, using models of the greatest possible simplicity.
Selected Publications
Rose, M., and B. Charlesworth. 1980. A test of evolutionary theories of senescence. Nature 287:141-142.
Rose, M.R. 1983. The contagion mechanism for the origin of sex. Journal of Theoretical Biology 101:137-146.
Rose, M.R. 1987. Quantitative Ecological Theory, An Introduction to Basic Models. The Johns Hopkins University Press, New York.
Rose, M.R. 1989. Genetics of increased lifespan in Drosophila . Bioessays 11:132-135.
Rose, M.R. 1991. Evolutionary Biology of Aging. Oxford University Press, New York.
M.R. Rose and G.V. Lauder, Editors. 1996. Adaptation. Academic Press, New York.
M.R. Rose and C.E. Finch, Editors. 1994. Genetics and Evolution of Aging. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.
M.R. Rose. 1991. Evolutionary Biology of Aging. Oxford University Press, New York.
A.K. Chippindale, A.M. Leroi, H. Saing, D.J. Borash & M.R. Rose. In press. Phenotypic plasticity and selection in Drosophila life-history evolution. 2. Diet, mates and the cost of reproduction. Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
M.R. Rose. In press. Evolution and comparative longevity. In Encyclopedia of Gerontology
J. Shiotsugu, A.M. Leroi, H. Yashiro, M.R. Rose & L.D. Mueller. 1997. The symmetry of correlated selection responses in adaptive evolution: An experimental study using Drosophila. Evolution, In press.
M.R. Rose & M.A. Archer. 1996. Genetic analysis of mechanisms of aging. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development 6:366-70.
J.E. Fleming & M.R. Rose. 1996. Genetics of aging in Drosophila. Pp. 74-93 in Handbook of the Biology of Aging. E.L. Schneider & J.W. Rowe, Eds. Academic Press, New York.
M. Djawdan, T. Sugiyama, L. Schlaeger, T.J. Bradley, & M.R. Rose. 1996. Metabolic aspects of the trade-off between fecundity and longevity in Drosophila melanogaster. Physiological Zoology 69:1175-1195.
T.J. Nusbaum, L.D. Mueller, & M.R. Rose. 1996. Evolutionary patterns among measures of aging. Experimental Gerontology 31:507-516.
A.K. Chippindale, T.J.F. Chu & M.R. Rose. 1996. Complex trade- offs and the evolution of starvation resistance in Drosophila melanogaster. Evolution 50:753-66.
L.D. Mueller, T.J. Nusbaum & M.R. Rose. 1995. The Gompertz equation as a predictive tool in demography. Experimental Gerontology 30:553-569.
C.E. Finch & M.R. Rose. 1995. Hormones and the physiological architecture of life-history evolution. Quarterly Review of Biology 70: 1-52.
A.K. Chippindale, D.T. Hoang, P.M. Service & M.R. Rose. 1994. The evolution of development in Drosophila melanogaster selected for postponed senescence. Evolution 48: 1880-1899.
A.M. Leroi, A.K. Chippindale & M.R. Rose. 1994. Long-term laboratory evolution of a genetic trade-off in Drosophila melanogaster. I. The role of genotype x environment interaction. Evolution 48: 1244-1257.
A.M. Leroi, W.R. Chen & M.R. Rose. 1994. Long-term laboratory evolution of a genetic trade-off in Drosophila melanogaster. II. Stability of genetic correlations. Evolution 48: 1258-1268.
A.M. Leroi, S.B. Kim & M.R. Rose. 1994. The evolution of phenotypic life-history trade- offs: an experimental study using Drosophila melanogaster. American Naturalist 144:661-676.
M.R. Rose & T.J. Nusbaum. 1994. Prospects for postponing human aging. FASEB Journal 8: 925-928.
T.J. Nusbaum & M.R. Rose. 1994. Aging in Drosophila. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 109A: 33-38.
A.M. Leroi, M.R. Rose & G.V. Lauder. 1994. What does the comparative method reveal about adaptation? American Naturalist 143: 381-402.
J.E. Fleming, G.S. Spicer, R.C. Garrison & M.R. Rose. 1993. Two dimensional protein electrophoretic analysis of postponed aging in Drosophila. Genetica 91: 183-198.
R.H. Tyler, H. Brar, M. Singh, A. Latorre, J.L. Graves, L.D. Mueller, M.R. Rose & F.J. Ayala.1993. The effect of superoxide dismutase alleles on aging in Drosophila. Genetica 91: 143-149.
L.D. Mueller, J.L. Graves, & M.R. Rose. 1993. Interactions between density-dependent and age-specific selection in Drosophila melanogaster. Functional Ecology 7:469-479.
G.V. Lauder, A.M. Leroi & M.R. Rose. 1993. Adaptations and history. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 8:294-297.
A.K. Chippindale, A.M. Leroi, S.B. Kim, & M.R. Rose. 1993. Phenotypic plasticity and selection in Drosophila life-history evolution. I. Nutrition and the cost of reproduction. J. Evol. Biology 6:171-193.
M.R. Rose, T.J. Nusbaum, & James E. Fleming. 1992. Drosophila with postponed aging as a model for aging research. Lab. Animal Sci. 42:114-118.
M.R. Rose, L.N. Vu, S.U. Park, & J.L. Graves. 1992. Selection for stress resistance increases longevity in Drosophila melanogaster. Exp. Gerontol. 27: 241-250.
J.L. Graves, E.C. Toolson, C. Jeong, L.N. Vu, & M.R. Rose. 1992. Desiccation, flight, glycogen, and postponed senescence in Drosophila melanogaster. Physiol. Zool. 65:268-286.
R.E. Lenski, M.R. Rose, S.E. Simpson, & S.C. Tadler. 1991. Long-term experimental evolution in Escherichia coli. I. Adaptation and divergence during 2000 generations. Am. Nat. 138: 1315-1341.
M.R. Rose & G.V. Lauder. 1996. Post-spandrel adaptationism. In Adaptation. M.R. Rose & G.V. Lauder, Eds. Academic Press, New York.
M.R. Rose, A.K. Chippindale & T.J. Nusbaum. 1996. Laboratory evolution: the experimental wonderland and the Cheshire Cat Syndrome. In Adaptation. M.R. Rose & G.V. Lauder, Eds. Academic Press, New York.
C. Moore & M.R. Rose. 1995. Adaptive and nonadaptive explanations of sociopathy.Brain & Behavioral Sciences 18:566-567.
M.R. Rose & C.E. Finch. 1993. The Janiform genetics of aging. Genetica 91: 3-10.
M.R. Rose & C. Moore. 1993. A Darwinian function for the orbital cortex. J. Theor. Biology. 161: 119-129.