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Related Concept Videos

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Related Experiment Video

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Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
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Natural selection. II. Developmental variability and evolutionary rate.

S A Frank1

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA. safrank@uci.edu

Journal of Evolutionary Biology
|September 24, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Developmental variability enhances evolution by smoothing fitness landscapes, allowing genotypes to adapt to new environments. This process, alongside genetic variation, accelerates evolutionary rates.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Developmental biology

Background:

  • Classical evolutionary theory posits genetic variation as the primary source of heritable phenotypic variation for natural selection.
  • Alternative theories highlight developmental variability and learning in generating nonheritable phenotypic variation that can speed evolutionary responses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how developmental variability influences evolutionary dynamics.
  • To demonstrate the role of developmental variability in modifying the genotype-fitness relationship and facilitating adaptation.

Main Methods:

  • The study theoretically analyzes the impact of developmental variability on fitness landscapes.
  • It models how developmental variability smooths the fitness landscape, creating direct paths to optimal fitness peaks.

Main Results:

  • Developmental variability smooths rugged fitness landscapes, enabling a more direct route to higher fitness.
  • It confers initial survival advantages to genotypes facing novel or extreme environmental challenges, creating opportunities for adaptation.
  • This smoothing and broadening of the fitness landscape by developmental variability is key to initial survival.

Conclusions:

  • Developmental variability plays a crucial role in evolutionary processes by altering the fitness landscape.
  • The interplay between developmental variability and genetic variation is a key determinant of the rate of evolution.
  • Developmental processes and genetic variation synergize to set the pace of evolutionary change.