Selection for Function in Early Life: Implications for Early‐Onset Pathologies

, a selective process operating within organisms and acting on non-reproducing entities by favoring structural configurations that enhance stability, robustness, and novelty generation, may play a role in aging. Here, we suggest that this same process can also operate well before the so-called selection shadow (i.e., life stages where natural selection is too weak to purge deleterious mutations). We identify three non-mutually exclusive mechanisms that may promote this early-life action: (i) initial local adaptive benefits, such as improved tissue repair or containment of infection; (ii) limited or context-specific fitness costs, allowing structurally stable but abnormal configurations to persist undetected; and (iii) rapid environmental changes that reshape tissue-level selective landscapes, driven by pollutants, endocrine disruptors, or novel diets. Recognizing early-onset organized pathologies as by-products of eco-evolutionary tissue dynamics, rather than as mere developmental errors, reframes their biological significance and opens new therapeutic avenues. Instead of targeting cells exclusively, future strategies could focus on disrupting the functional architecture of pathological tissues and structures, offering novel means to prevent or control early-life diseases shaped by internal selection forces.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Evolutionary Applications
Published
2026-04-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.70226
Primary Topic
Planarian Biology and Electrostimulation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Selection for Function in Early Life: Implications for Early‐Onset Pathologies

Antoine Marie Dujon, Jean‐François Lemaître, James V. DeGregori, Aurora M. Nedelcu et al.
Evolutionary Applications
Planarian Biology and Electrostimulation
article

Selection for Function in Early Life: Implications for Early‐Onset Pathologies

Antoine Marie Dujon, Jean‐François Lemaître, James V. DeGregori, Aurora M. Nedelcu, Beáta Újvári, Daniel Vaiman, Pascal Pujol, Jean‐Pascal Capp, Frédéric Thomas, Klara Asselin, Florence Pirard
article en

Abstract

, a selective process operating within organisms and acting on non-reproducing entities by favoring structural configurations that enhance stability, robustness, and novelty generation, may play a role in aging. Here, we suggest that this same process can also operate well before the so-called selection shadow (i.e., life stages where natural selection is too weak to purge deleterious mutations). We identify three non-mutually exclusive mechanisms that may promote this early-life action: (i) initial local adaptive benefits, such as improved tissue repair or containment of infection; (ii) limited or context-specific fitness costs, allowing structurally stable but abnormal configurations to persist undetected; and (iii) rapid environmental changes that reshape tissue-level selective landscapes, driven by pollutants, endocrine disruptors, or novel diets. Recognizing early-onset organized pathologies as by-products of eco-evolutionary tissue dynamics, rather than as mere developmental errors, reframes their biological significance and opens new therapeutic avenues. Instead of targeting cells exclusively, future strategies could focus on disrupting the functional architecture of pathological tissues and structures, offering novel means to prevent or control early-life diseases shaped by internal selection forces.

Evolutionary ApplicationsVol. 19(4)
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR), University of New Brunswick (CA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Deakin University (AU), Inserm (FR), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse (FR), Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Écologie, Génétique, Évolution et Contrôle (FR), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive (FR), Institut Cochin (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (US)
Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Openalex Percentile: Top 27%
Planarian Biology and Electrostimulation
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.