The Effects of Local Adaptations on Longevity-Associated Traits

Before you evolve extreme longevity, you must first evolve to survive in your environment. Unsurprisingly, there are many cases in the literature where populations of humans and other species have adapted to resist local environmental toxins which mimic aging-related stresses, such as oxidative stress and DNA damage from heavy metals and radiation. In the US, there is a diversity of bat species, both long- and short-lived, whose ranges span areas with drastic differences in environmental exposures to mutagenic agents, including exposure to radioisotopes and heavy metals. This creates a natural system to study how genetic variation influences resistance to aging-associated traits: within species, one can compare the exposed populations to control populations; and between species, one can compare long- and short-lived species in different environments with matched control species that are not exposed to these local elements.