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Review

Nature Reviews Genetics 8, 116–125 (1 February 2007) | doi:10.1038/nrg2040

Contributions of genomics to life-history theory

Derek A. Roff

Life-history theory seeks to understand the factors that produce variation in life histories that are found both among and within species. At the organismal level there is a well developed mathematical framework, and an important focus of the current research is determining the biological underpinnings of this framework, with particular attention to the causal mechanisms that underlie trade-offs. Genomic approaches are proving useful in addressing this issue.