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Antagonistic Pleiotropy

Definition
AI-generated

Antagonistic pleiotropy occurs when a genetic variant increases fitness or benefit for one trait while harming another (e.g. early-life advantage vs. late-life disease), a classic idea in the evolution of aging and trade-offs.

Topics
Core genetics
Related
Horizontal Pleiotropy Pleiotropy Trait

Why it matters in GWAS

It motivates careful interpretation of cross-trait effects and life-course phenotypes: alleles may be retained despite disease risk because of opposing effects on other outcomes or life stages.

Example usage

"We discussed antagonistic pleiotropy when the longevity-associated allele showed opposite effects on fertility proxies in the UK Biobank."

Horizontal Pleiotropy Pleiotropy Trait Vertical Pleiotropy
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References

  • Williams GC. (1957). Pleiotropy, natural selection, and the evolution of senescence. Evolution.
  • Jee J, et al. (2026). The pleiotropic landscape of the human genome. Nat Rev Genet. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-025-00908-0
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