Evolutionary Medicine focuses on maladaptation. A special Issue of Evolutionary Applications offers a series of useful papers on the latest thinking. The overview article is likely to be of special interest.

Causes of maladaptation

Steven P. BradyDaniel I. BolnickAmy L. AngertAndrew GonzalezRowan D.H. BarrettErika CrispoAlison M. DerryChristopher G. EckertDylan J. FraserGregor F. Fussmann… See all authors First published: 23 July 2019 https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12844

Evolutionary biologists tend to approach the study of the natural world within a framework of adaptation, inspired perhaps by the power of natural selection to produce fitness advantages that drive population persistence and biological diversity. In contrast, evolution has rarely been studied through the lens of adaptation’s complement, maladaptation. This contrast is surprising because maladaptation is a prevalent feature of evolution: population trait values are rarely distributed optimally; local populations often have lower fitness than imported ones; populations decline; and local and global extinctions are common. Yet we lack a general framework for understanding maladaptation; for instance in terms of distribution, severity, and dynamics. Similar uncertainties apply to the causes of maladaptation. We suggest that incorporating maladaptation‐based perspectives into evolutionary biology would facilitate better understanding of the natural world. Approaches within a maladaptation framework might be especially profitable in applied evolution contexts – where reductions in fitness are common. Toward advancing a more balanced study of evolution, here we present a conceptual framework describing causes of maladaptation. As the introductory article for a Special Feature on maladaptation, we also summarize the studies in this Issue, highlighting the causes of maladaptation in each study. We hope that our framework and the papers in this Special Issue will help catalyze the study of maladaptation in applied evolution, supporting greater understanding of evolutionary dynamics in our rapidly changing world.

Evolution Medicine and Public Health will publish a special issue on Paleopathology in 2021. Submissions are invited. See below and this link for details

Bioarchaeology and its sub-discipline palaeopathology provide direct insight into the appearance, prevalence,  manifestations, and impact of particular health problems through thousands of years of human history and  prehistory. As such, these disciplines help to explain how and why certain diseases have emerged and evolved in humans. Additionally, the information gained from these archaeological contexts has the potential to identify possible aetiological factors that can be difficult to see in smaller, more locally confined clinical studies.

Currently, palaeopathology is under-represented in evolutionary medicine. With this in mind, we are launching a Virtual Issue of Evolution, Medicine and Public Health (EMPH) that will address questions in evolutionary medicine from the unique perspective of paleopathological research. 

For this Virtual Issue, we welcome and encourage the submission of data-driven research papers from scholars who use bioarchaeology and evolutionary theory to answer questions about medical issues affecting humans. If you or your lab are conducting such research, please consider submitting a paper to EMPH for consideration.  

Paper submissions will be accepted for consideration for this virutal issue from now until the target date of August 31, 2021.

Please contact the organizers for more information: Kimberly Plomp at kplomp@sfu.ca,  Gillian Bentley at g.r.bentley@durham.ac.uk, or Frank Rühli at frank.ruehli@iem.uzh.ch. 

Novel strategy from the Read group: Use an IV antibiotic but give an agent that binds it in the gut.

Morley, V. J., Kinnear, C. L., Sim, D. G., Olson, S. N., Jackson, L. M., Hansen, E., Usher, G. A., Showalter, S. A., Pai, M. P., Woods, R. J., & Read, A. F. (2020). An adjunctive therapy administered with an antibiotic prevents enrichment of antibiotic-resistant clones of a colonizing opportunistic pathogen [Preprint]. Evolutionary Biology. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.24.059444

Abstract: A key challenge in antibiotic stewardship is figuring out how to use antibiotics therapeutically without promoting the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Here, we demonstrate proof of concept for an adjunctive therapy that allows intravenous antibiotic treatment without driving the evolution and onward transmission of resistance. We repurposed the FDA-approved bile acid sequestrant cholestyramine, which we show binds the antibiotic daptomycin, as an ‘anti-antibiotic’ to disable systemically-administered daptomycin reaching the gut. We hypothesized that adjunctive cholestyramine could enable therapeutic daptomycin treatment in the bloodstream, while preventing transmissible resistance emergence in opportunistic pathogens colonizing the gastrointestinal tract. We tested this idea in a mouse model of Enterococcus faecium gastrointestinal tract colonization. In mice treated with daptomycin, adjunctive cholestyramine therapy reduced the fecal shedding of daptomycin-resistant E. faecium by up to 80-fold. These results provide proof of concept for an approach that could reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance for important hospital pathogens.

Below is a list of ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLES published in EMPH so far this year. Covid delays have slowed publication of final pdf versions, but almost all of them are now available.

Fish consumption is associated with school performance in children in a non-linear way: Results from the German cohort study KiGGS 

A Lehner, K Staub, L Aldakak, P Eppenberger, F Rühli …Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2020, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 2–11, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoz038

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Spondylolysis and spinal adaptations for bipedalism: The overshoot hypothesis 

Kimberly A Plomp, Keith Dobney, Mark CollardEvolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2020, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 35–44, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaa003

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An African origin for Mycobacterium bovis 

Chloé Loiseau, Fabrizio Menardo, Abraham Aseffa, Elena Hailu, Balako Gumi …Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2020, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 49–59, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaa005

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Kin-based alloparenting and infant hospital admissions in the UK Millennium cohort 

David WaynforthEvolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2020, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 72–81, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaa014

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Evidence for height and immune function trade-offs among preadolescents in a high pathogen population 

Angela R Garcia, Aaron D Blackwell, Benjamin C Trumble, Jonathan Stieglitz, Hillard Kaplan …Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2020, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 86–99, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaa017

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Immune function during pregnancy varies between ecologically distinct populations 

Carmen Hové, Benjamin C Trumble, Amy S Anderson, Jonathan Stieglitz, Hillard Kaplan …Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2020, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 114–128, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaa022

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Knowledge and practices regarding antibiotics use: Findings from a cross-sectional survey among Italian adults 

Aida Bianco, Francesca Licata, Rossella Zucco, Rosa Papadopoli, Maria PaviaEvolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2020, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 129–138, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaa028

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Lifetime cancer prevalence and life history traits in mammals 

Amy M Boddy, Lisa M Abegglen, Allan P Pessier, Athena Aktipis, Joshua D Schiffman …Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2020, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 187–195, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaa015

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Effect of drug dose and timing of treatment on the emergence of drug resistance in vivo in a malaria model 

Mónica M Acosta, Joshua T Bram, Derek Sim, Andrew F ReadEvolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2020, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 196–210, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaa016

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A test of oscillation in the human secondary sex ratio 

Ralph Catalano, Joan A Casey, Tim A BrucknerEvolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2020, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 225–233, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaa012

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