Applying evolutionary biology to address global challenges

Abstract

Two categories of evolutionary challenges result from escalating human impacts on the planet. The first arises from cancers, pathogens and pests that evolve too quickly, and the second from the inability of many valued species to adapt quickly enough. Applied evolutionary biology provides a suite of strategies to address these global challenges that threaten human health, food security, and biodiversity. This review highlights both progress and gaps in genetic, developmental and environmental manipulations across the life sciences that either target the rate and direction of evolution, or reduce the mismatch between organisms and human-altered environments. Increased development and application of these underused tools will be vital in meeting current and future targets for sustainable development.

Use antimicrobials wisely

“…These i s s u e s i n c lu d e infectious diseases, food security, nat ural resources and environmental conservation. Action here could, in turn, lead to more equitable forms of national progress across the sustainable development goals 3 .…”

“…any case, waging war on microbes is not tenable 3 -our bodies and planet depend on them 4 (see Supplementary Information; go.nature.com/2c03p6n). Addressing resistance requires global collective action.…”

“…Today, our inability to treat infections ranks alongside climate change as a global threat 1,2 . New classes of antimicrobial drugs are unlikely to become widely available any time soon 1 ; if and when they do, bacteria, viruses and other microbes will again evolve resistance 3 . In incentive to conserve this 'commons' .…”

Managing aquatic parasites for reduced drug resistance: lessons from the land

“…Strategies for reducing the evolution of pesticide resistance in terrestrial systems involve changing patterns of chemical applications in both time and space [3][4][5]. The goal of these strategies is to increase the degree of treatment heterogeneity (DTH).…”

“…For example, pesticide resistance is a well-known issue in terrestrial environments, where in North America more than 250 species of terrestrial arthropods are resistant to at least one chemical pesticide [1]. The decreased ability to control pests and pathogens has economic, environmental, public health and food security challenges [2][3][4]. Recognizing the scale of this problem, recent papers have called for more investigation into strategies that simultaneously manage pests and pathogens and their evolutionary trajectories [4,5].…”