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Stress-Induced Evolutionary Innovation: A Mechanism for the Origin of Cell Types
Günter P Wagner1,2,3,4, Eric M Erkenbrack1,2, Alan C Love5,6
1Yale Systems Biology Institute, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA.
Summary
Environmentally induced phenotypic variation drives evolutionary innovation. Ancestral cellular stress reactions can evolve into novel body plan structures, like new cell types, through stress-induced evolutionary innovation (SIEI).
Area of Science:
- Developmental Evolution
- Evolutionary Biology
- Cellular Biology
Background:
- Phenotypic plasticity, or environmentally induced variation, is crucial in evolutionary developmental biology.
- Cellular stress responses are fundamental physiological adaptations to environmental changes.
- Existing research suggests a link between cellular stress reactions and the evolution of specific cell types.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the Stress-Induced Evolutionary Innovation (SIEI) model.
- To propose that SIEI is a distinct mechanism for evolutionary change.
- To explore the role of plasticity in the origin of novel biological structures.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual model development (SIEI).
- Review of existing findings on cellular stress and cell differentiation.
- Hypothesis formulation regarding the evolution of decidual stromal cells.
Main Results:
- The SIEI model posits that ancestral stress pathways can generate novel structural components.
- Decidual stromal cells, critical for human pregnancy, may have evolved from a cellular stress reaction.
- This stress reaction is hypothesized to have been ancestrally triggered by embryo attachment-induced inflammation.
Conclusions:
- Stress-induced evolutionary innovation (SIEI) offers a novel framework for understanding evolutionary novelty.
- SIEI represents a form of plasticity-based evolution, distinct from adaptive transformation of existing traits.
- This model provides insights into the origin of complex structures, such as specialized cell types, through ancestral physiological responses.
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