Antagonistic pleiotropy and the evolution of extraordinary lifespans in eusocial organisms

Abstract

Queens of eusocial species live extraordinarily long compared to their workers. So far, it has been argued that these lifespan divergences are readily explained by the classical evolutionary theory of ageing. As workers predominantly perform risky tasks, such as foraging and nest defense, and queens stay in the well‐protected nests, selection against harmful genetic mutations expressed in old age should be weaker in workers than in queens due to caste differences in extrinsic mortality risk, and thus, lead to the evolution of longer queen and shorter worker lifespans. However, these arguments have not been supported by formal models. Here, we present a model for the evolution of caste‐specific ageing in social insects, based on Williams’ antagonistic pleiotropy theory of ageing. In individual‐based simulations, we assume that mutations with antagonistic fitness effects can act within castes, that is, mutations in early life are accompanied by an antagonistic effect acting in later life, or between castes, where antagonistic effects emerge due to caste antagonism or indirect genetic effects between castes. In monogynous social insect species with sterile workers, large lifespan divergences between castes evolved under all different scenarios of antagonistic effects, but regardless of the degree of caste‐specific extrinsic mortality. Mutations with antagonistic fitness effects within castes reduced lifespans of both castes, while mutations with between‐caste antagonistic effects decreased worker lifespans more than queen lifespans, and consequently increased lifespan divergences. Our results challenge the central explanatory role of extrinsic mortality for caste‐specific ageing in eusocial organisms and suggest that antagonistic pleiotropy affects castes differently due to reproductive monopolization by queens, hence, reproductive division of labor. Finally, these findings provide new insights into the evolution of tissue‐specific ageing in multicellular organisms in general.