Université de Fribourg

Learning ability and longevity: a symmetrical evolutionary trade-off in Drosophila

Burger, Joep M. S. ; Kolss, Munjong ; Pont, Juliette ; Kawecki, Tadeusz J.

In: Evolution, 2008, vol. 62, no. 6, p. 1294–1304

Learning ability can be substantially improved by artificial selection in animals ranging from Drosophila to rats. Thus these species have not used their evolutionary potential with respect to learning ability, despite intuitively expected and experimentally demonstrated adaptive advantages of learning. This suggests that learning is costly, but this notion has rarely been tested. Here we report...

Université de Fribourg

Juvenile hormone as a regulator of the trade-off between reproduction and life span in Drosophila melanogaster

Flatt, Thomas ; Kawecki, Tadeusz J.

In: Evolution, 2007, vol. 61, no. 8, p. 1980–1991

Trade-offs between reproduction and life span are ubiquitous, but little is known about their underlying mechanisms. Here we combine treatment with the juvenile hormone analog (JHa) methoprene and experimental evolution in Drosophila melanogaster to study the potential role of juvenile hormone (JH) in mediating such trade-offs at both the physiological and evolutionary level. Exposure to...