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Waddington's widget: Hsp90 and the inheritance of acquired characters
Douglas M Ruden1, Mark D Garfinkel, Vincent E Sollars
1Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Ryals Public Health Building, 1665 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35294-0022, USA. douglasr@uab.edu
Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology
|February 28, 2004
Summary
Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) may act as a capacitor, masking silent phenotypic variation. This review explores Hsp90's role in Waddington's canalization model for evolution.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Developmental biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Conrad Waddington's 1942 model proposed a mechanism that hides phenotypic variation until stress.
- This concept, known as canalization, suggests that development buffers against genetic and environmental perturbations.
Observation:
- Recent research suggests the conserved chaperone Hsp90 might function as a "capacitor" for evolution.
- Hsp90 is hypothesized to mask silent phenotypic variation of genetic or epigenetic origin.
Findings:
- This review examines evidence supporting and refuting Hsp90's role as an evolutionary capacitor.
- It discusses Hsp90's potential involvement in Waddington's proposed developmental buffering system, termed "Waddington's widget."
Implications:
- Understanding Hsp90's function could illuminate mechanisms of adaptive evolution.
- This sheds light on how hidden variation is revealed under stress, impacting evolutionary trajectories.
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