1. The cecal appendix is correlated with greater maximal longevity in mammals
- Author
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Eric Ogier-Denis, Jérémie Bardin, M. Collard, Michel Laurin, Centre de recherche sur l'Inflammation (CRI (UMR_S_1149 / ERL_8252 / U1149)), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Chemistry, Oncogenesis, Stress and Signaling (COSS), Université de Rennes (UR)-CRLCC Eugène Marquis (CRLCC)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Centre de Lutte Contre le Cancer Henri Becquerel Normandie Rouen (CLCC Henri Becquerel), HAL-SU, Gestionnaire, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-CRLCC Eugène Marquis (CRLCC)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), and Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Senescence ,Aging ,senescence ,Histology ,phylogenetic generalized least squares ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Longevity ,diarrhea ,Zoology ,Appendix ,Biology ,Evolution of ageing ,digestive system ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Social life ,03 medical and health sciences ,Cecum ,[SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology ,[SDV.BID.EVO] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE] ,medicine ,Selective advantage ,Animals ,gastrointestinal anatomy ,convergent evolution ,Life history ,Molecular Biology ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,030304 developmental biology ,media_common ,Mammals ,Original Paper ,0303 health sciences ,[SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE] ,vermiform appendix ,Cell Biology ,bacterial infections and mycoses ,Biological Evolution ,Original Papers ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,[SDV.BA.ZV] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology ,Anatomy ,lifespan ,extrinsic mortality ,Developmental Biology - Abstract
The cecal appendix had been considered as a useless vestige since Darwin's work, but recent research questioned this idea demonstrating that the cecal appendix appeared among the mammals at least 80 million years ago and has made multiple and independent appearances without any obvious correlation with diet, social life, ecology, or size of the cecum. However, functions and probable selective advantage conferred by this anatomical structure still remain enigmatic. We found, through analyses of data on 258 mammalian species, that cecal appendix presence is correlated with increased maximal observed longevity. This is the first demonstration of a correlation between cecal appendix presence and life history. Interestingly, the classical evolutionary theory of aging that predicts an increased longevity when the extrinsic mortality is reduced has been questioned several times, but recent comparative studies asserted its validity in the taxa, which experience age‐dependent and density‐dependent mortality, as in mammals. Thus, the cecal appendix may contribute to the increase in longevity through a reduction of extrinsic mortality. A lower risk of fatal infectious diarrhea is one of the most plausible hypotheses that could explain it. However, several hypotheses coexist about the possible functions of the cecal appendix, and our results provide new insights about this much‐disputed question. In addition, we show that the cecal appendix arose at least 16 times and was lost only once during the evolutionary history of the considered mammals, an asymmetry that supports the existence of a positive selective of this structure., Most people think about the appendix as a useless and even harmful structure that is removed on emergency in case of appendicitis. This belief harks as far back as Darwin, but it has been questioned by recent works that suggests that the cecal appendix does have a function. In this study, we found that the presence of an appendix is correlated with greater longevity in mammals, even when controlling for the strong positive size effects and for the phylogeny.
- Published
- 2021