Plastic flies: the regulation and evolution of trait variability in Drosophila

Individuals within species and populations vary. Such variation arises through environmental and genetic factors and ensures that no two individuals are identical. However, it is clear that not all traits show the same degree of intraspecific variation. Some traits, in particular secondary sexual characteristics used by males to compete for and attract females, are extremely variable among individuals in a population. Other traits, for example brain size in mammals, are not. Recent research has begun to explore the possibility that the extent of phenotypic variation (here referred to as "variability") may be a character itself and subject to natural selection. While these studies support the concept of variability as an evolvable trait, controversy remains over what precisely the trait is. At the heart of this controversy is the fact that there are very few examples of developmental mechanisms that regulate trait variability in response to any source of variation, be it environmental or genetic. Here, we describe a recent study from our laboratory that identifies such a mechanism. We then place the study in the context of current research on the regulation of trait variability, and discuss the implications for our understanding of the developmental regulation and evolution of phenotypic variation.