RT Journal Article
T1 Long lifespans have evolved with long and monounsaturated fatty acids in birds
A1 Galván, Ismael
A1 Naudí, Alba
A1 Erritzøe, Johannes
A1 Møller, Anders P.
A1 Barja de Quiroga, Gustavo
A1 Pamplona, Reinald
AB The evolution of lifespan is a central question in evolutionary biology, begging the question why there is so large variation among taxa. Specifically, a central quest is to unravel proximate causes of ageing. Here, we show that the degree of unsaturation of liver fatty acids predicts maximum lifespan in 107 bird species. In these birds, the degree of fatty acid unsaturation is positively related to maximum lifespan across species. This is due to a positive effect of monounsaturated fatty acid content, while polyunsaturated fatty acid content negatively correlates with maximum lifespan. Furthermore, fatty acid chain length unsuspectedly increases with maximum lifespan independently of degree of unsaturation. These findings tune theories on the proximate causes of ageing while providing evidence that the evolution of lifespan in birds occurs in association with fatty acid profiles. This suggests that studies of proximate and ultimate questions may facilitate our understanding of these central evolutionary questions.
PB Wiley
SN 0014-3820, ESSN: 1558-5646
YR 2015
FD 2015-10
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/23297
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/23297
LA eng
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 31 dic 2025