Evolution, diversification and function of the maternal-infant dyad in mammalian feeding

Christopher J. Mayerl, Rebecca Z. German

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The evolution of the mother/infant dyad providing a source of nutrition for infants is essential for the origin and subsequent diversification of mammals. Despite the importance of this dyad, research on maternal and infant function is often treated independently. Our goal is to synthesize the work on maternal and infant function, discuss our own studies of suckling, and compare the origins of lactation and suckling with their ensuing diversification. Our central premise is that while extensive work has demonstrated variation across mammals in the maternal aspect of this system, very little has been done to address how this relates to infant function. We start with a discussion of the fundamental anatomy and physiology of both mother and infant. We next discuss the origin of mammary glands and milk, and infant suckling, which is distinct from their subsequent diversification. We then discuss the diversification of maternal and infant function, highlighting the evolutionary diversity present in maternal function (both anatomically and physiologically), before arguing that the diversity of infant function is unexplored, and needs to be better studied in the future. We end by discussing some of the holes in our understanding, and suggestions for future work that can address these lacunae. This article is part of the theme issue 'Food processing and nutritional assimilation in animals'.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number20220554
JournalPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume378
Issue number1891
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 4 2023

Keywords

  • mammalian evolution
  • oropharyngeal anatomy
  • suckling

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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