Evolutionary biology key to tackling diverse global problems, study finds

Evolutionary biology techniques can and must be used to help solve global challenges in agriculture, medicine and environmental sciences, advises a nine-member global team led by an evolutionary ecologist from University of California, Davis.

Findings from the study will appear Sept. 11 in Science Express.

Evolutionary biology is often overlooked in the study of global challenges, said lead author Scott Carroll of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the Institute for Contemporary Evolution, also in Davis. By looking at humanitys problems across the domains of nature conservation, food production and human health, it is clear that we need to strengthen evolutionary biology throughout the disciplines and develop a shared language among them.

The new study calls attention to how evolutionary biology can be used to address challenges in agriculture, medicine and environmental sciences, for example, in crop breeding, avoiding antibiotic resistance, genetic therapy for diseases and mitigating the effects of climate change.

A particular worry is the unaddressed need for management of evolution that spans multiple sectors, such as occurs in the spread of new infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance genes between natural, human health and agricultural systems, Carroll said.

Many of the global challenges we face today have common biological solutions, said co-lead author Peter Sgaard Jrgensen of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. We can tackle them effectively only if we are aware of successes and progress in all fields using evolutionary biology as a tool.

The researchers crafted a graphic wheel divided into food, health and environment sectors and cited the challenges that link them together, including rapid evolution and phenotype environment mismatch in more slowly reproducing or threatened species.

Society faces two sorts of challenges from evolution, the research team said. The first occurs when pests and pathogens we try to kill or control persist or even prosper because the survivors and their offspring can resist our actions, Carroll said. The second challenge arises when species we value adapt too slowly, including humans.

Although practices in health, agriculture and environmental conservation differ, each field can better target challenges using the same applications of evolutionary biology, they said.

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Evolutionary biology key to tackling diverse global problems, study finds