Adjusting phenotypes via within- and across-generational plasticity

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Epigenetics
• Environmental science

Background:

• Renewed interest exists in how transgenerational environmental effects, such as epigenetic inheritance, influence adaptive evolution.
• The role of across-generation plasticity in adaptation requires comparison with within-generation plasticity.
• Within-generation plasticity is often favored due to potentially more accurate offspring environmental cues for predicting selective environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the contribution of across-generation plasticity to adaptation.
• To compare the predictive accuracy of parental versus offspring environmental cues.
• To explore the dynamic interplay between within- and across-generation plasticity in adaptation.

Main Methods:

• Review and synthesis of recent empirical studies on transgenerational plasticity.
• Analysis of findings in the context of cue predictive ability, plasticity costs, and constraints.
• Discussion of the dynamic nature of adaptive value in relation to the adaptation process.

Main Results:

• Empirical studies do not consistently support the hypothesis that offspring cues are more predictive than parental cues.
• The adaptive value of plasticity varies dynamically with the ongoing process of adaptation.
• Costs and constraints affect plasticity in both parental and offspring generations.

Conclusions:

• The predictive ability of environmental cues is not consistently biased towards offspring.
• Dynamic selection processes can explain diverse patterns of within- and across-generation plasticity.
• Transgenerational environmental effects can significantly influence the adaptive value of plasticity.