Projects per year
Personal profile
Academic Background
My lab web site: https://alexeimaklakov.com/
Twitter: @AlexeiMaklakov
Key Research Interests
Research in our lab revolves around fundamental questions in evolutionary biology:
Why do organisms age?
Why do males and females have different life-histories?
More specifically, we are interested in the evolution of life histories, conflicts between the sexes and sexual dimorphism. These questions are often intimately linked: for example, to understand sexual dimorphism in longevity, one has to combine evolutionary theory of ageing with sexual selection theory. We work on a variety of different organisms: roundworms (e.g. C. elegans), beetles (e.g. C. maculatus), fruit flies (e.g. D. melanogaster), birds (e.g. Collared Flycatchers) and humans, since our research is generally driven by the question rather than by the organism. Much of this work involves experimental studies in laboratory with small, fast-reproducing creatures but we also utilize privately or publicly available databases when it comes to populations of wild animals or humans.
The main focus of our current research is the evolution of ageing, which is a fundamental and, as yet, unresolved issue in biology. We pursue this line of research both theoretically and empirically using experimental evolution, next-generation sequencing, behavioural assays, long-lived mutants, gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi) and long-term studies of natural and human populations.
Currently we are very interested in:
i) understanding the role of age-specific nutrient-sensing signalling in ageing
ii) the trans-generational effects of lifespan extension on offspring fitness
iii) the evolution of sex differences in lifespan and ageing
Administrative Posts
- Director of Research
- Member of the BIO Executive
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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The mechanisms and adaptive value of transgenerational epigenetic effects
Maklakov, A., Chapman, T., Immler, S. & Duxbury, E.
1/10/23 → 30/09/27
Project: Research
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I see / smell / touch / hear and therefore I am: sex differences in perception alter survival and reproduction
Chapman, T., Maklakov, A. & Rostant, W.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
30/08/22 → 29/08/25
Project: Research
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Understanding the breadth and depth of heatwave damage to reproduction across insect systems
Maklakov, A., Franco, A., Maklakov, A. & Spurgin, L.
Natural Environment Research Council
1/10/20 → 30/11/24
Project: Research
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The cost of longevity: transgenerational consequences of parental lifespan extension for offspring fitness
Maklakov, A., Chapman, T., Immler, S. & Thybert, D.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
1/10/18 → 30/09/21
Project: Research
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Transgenerational fitness effects of lifespan extension by dietary restriction in Caenorhabditis elegans
Ivimey-Cook, E. R., Sales, K., Carlsson, H., Immler, S., Chapman, T. & Maklakov, A. A., 12 May 2021, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 288, 1950, 20210701.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile15 Citations (Scopus)16 Downloads (Pure) -
Cost-free lifespan extension via optimization of gene expression in adulthood aligns with the developmental theory of ageing
Lind, M. I., Carlsson, H., Duxbury, E. M. L., Ivimey-Cook, E. & Maklakov, A. A., 10 Feb 2021, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 288, 1944, 20201728.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile11 Citations (Scopus)15 Downloads (Pure) -
Silver-spoon upbringing improves early-life fitness but promotes reproductive ageing in a wild bird
Spagopoulou, F., Teplitsky, C., Lind, M. I., Chantepie, S., Gustafsson, L. & Maklakov, A. A., Jun 2020, In: Ecology Letters. 23, 6, p. 994-1002 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile28 Citations (Scopus)17 Downloads (Pure) -
Evolution of ageing as a tangle of trade-offs: Energy versus function
Maklakov, A. A. & Chapman, T., 18 Sep 2019, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286, 1911, 20191604.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile94 Citations (Scopus)34 Downloads (Pure) -
Experimentally reduced insulin/IGF-1 signaling in adulthood extends lifespan of parents and improves Darwinian fitness of their offspring
Lind, M. I., Ravindran, S., Sekajova, Z., Carlsson, H., Hinas, A. & Maklakov, A. A., Apr 2019, In: Evolution Letters. 3, 2, p. 207-216 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile24 Citations (Scopus)20 Downloads (Pure)