Genes & CellsGenes & CellsГены и КлеткиGenes and Cells2313-18292500-2562Human Stem Cells Institute12191010.23868/202205009ArticlesСтатьиResearch ArticleThe origin of menopauseПроисхождение менопаузыBoyarskyK. YuБоярскийК. Юkonstantinboyarsky@icloud.comSkobeevaV. AСкобееваВ. АChekhoninaO. BЧехонинаО. БKahianiE. IКахианиЕ. ИI.I. Mechnikov North-Western State Medical UniversityСеверо-Западный государственный медицинский университетMedical Center for Personal Health and ReproductionМедицинский центр персонального здоровья и репродукцииLomonosov Moscow State UniversityМосковский государственный университет им. М.В. Ломоносова»Moscow State Regional UniversityМосковский государственный областной университет15032022171VOL 17, NO1 (2022)ТОМ 17, №1 (2022)485416012023Copyright ©; 2022, Eco-VectorCopyright ©; 2022, Эко-Вектор2022Eco-VectorЭко-Векторhttps://genescells.ru/2313-1829/article/view/121910

The origin of menopause is mysterious and difficult to explain in terms of evolutionary theory. Menopause is described in humans and in four cetacean species. Natural selection cannot act on a trait that appears after the end of reproduction; therefore, it cannot be formed by the classical selection mechanism. All the proposed theories of the onset of menopause, adaptive and non-adaptive, can explain the benefits of menopause, but are completely untenable from the point of view of the theory of evolution and do not answer the main question - how did it arise. We propose a hypothesis based on the assertion that menopause is a byproduct of the rapid increase in the size of the cerebral cortex during the formation of Homo sapiens. Genes associated with the development of congenital microcephaly, which are responsible for the development of the cerebral cortex, were identified, and clear traces of natural selection were found in them, and a powerful evolutionary process continues up to the present. Most products of these genes are associated with the process of formation of the cell division spindle, both in the process of mitosis and meiosis. We hypothesize that the rapid evolutionary process that led to the growth of the cerebral cortex in humans, as a side effect, led to the formation of a high frequency of aneuploidy in oocytes. A similar process has also led to the formation of menopause in cetaceans.

Происхождение менопаузы является загадочным и труднообъяснимым с точки зрения теории эволюции. Менопауза описана у человека и у четырех видов китообразных. На признак, который проявляется после окончания репродукции, не может действовать естественный отбор, поэтому он не может быть сформирован классическим селекционным механизмом. Все предложенные теории возникновения менопаузы, адаптивные и неадаптивные, могут объяснить преимущества менопаузы, но абсолютно несостоятельны с точки зрения теории эволюции и не отвечают на главный вопрос - как она возникла. Мы предлагаем гипотезу, которая основана на утверждении, что менопауза является побочным следствием быстрого увеличения размеров коры головного мозга в процессе формирования человека разумного (Homo sapiens). Были выявлены гены, связанные с врожденной микроцефалией, которые отвечают за развитие коры головного мозга, и в них обнаружены признаки действия естественного отбора, причём мощный эволюционный процесс продолжается вплоть до настоящего времени. Большинство продуктов этих генов связанны с процессом формирования веретена деления клетки, как в процессе митоза, так и мейоза. Мы высказываем предположение, что быстрый эволюционный процесс, приведший к росту коры головного мозга у человека, как побочный эффект привел к формированию высокой частоты анеуплоидии в ооцитах. Подобный процесс также привел к формированию менопаузы у китообразных.

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