Researchers have identified a gene that appears to balance a powerful evolutionary tradeoff, boosting growth and reproductive success early in life while carrying hidden costs later on. The biological processes that help build a healthy young body may also sow the seeds of aging and cancer.
Researchers have now identified a gene that appears to do exactly that, driving rapid growth and early reproductive success while increasing the risk of disease and shortening lifespan later in life.
The discovery provides some of the strongest experimental evidence to date for antagonistic pleiotropy, a long-standing evolutionary theory proposing that genes beneficial in youth can have harmful effects in old age.
The study was led by Dr. Eitan Moses, Dr. Marva Bergman, and Prof. Itamar Harel of Hebrew University in collaboration with Prof. Nabieh Ayoub (Technion) and Prof. Alexei A. Maklakov (University of East Anglia).
Despite decades of research, scientists have struggled to pinpoint the genes behind these evolutionary trade-offs in vertebrates. The team investigated vgll3 in the African turquoise killifish, a species widely used to study aging because of its naturally short lifespan.
Previous studies had linked the gene to the timing of puberty and maturation, but its broader role in shaping lifespan and disease risk remained unclear. Using CRISPR gene-editing technology, the researchers altered vgll3 and observed major changes.
Fish carrying the modified gene grew more quickly and reached sexual maturity sooner, characteristics that could improve reproductive success in the wild. On the adverse side of those advantages, the same fish lived shorter lives and developed more age-related tumors, including cancers resembling melanoma.
“We have effectively caught evolution in the act of making a trade-off. For years, we’ve asked why our bodies can’t just maintain themselves indefinitely. This gene gives us a direct answer: nature doesn’t prioritize longevity; it prioritizes continuity. We are built to sprint, not to marathon,” said Dr. Harel.
Additional experiments revealed that vgll3 affects several important biological functions, including cell division, stem cell activity, and DNA repair.
