Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 30, 2025

Real-Time Quantification of the Effects of IS200/IS605 Family-Associated TnpB on Transposon Activity
Published on: January 20, 2023
The Developmental Gene Hypothesis for Punctuated Equilibrium: Combined Roles of Developmental Regulatory Genes and
Emily L Casanova1, Miriam K Konkel2
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina School of Medicine at Greenville, 200A Patewood Dr., Greenville, SC, 29615, USA.
Abstract:
Theories of the genetics underlying punctuated equilibrium (PE) have been vague to date. Here the developmental gene hypothesis is proposed, which states that: 1) developmental regulatory (DevReg) genes are responsible for the orchestration of metazoan morphogenesis and their extreme conservation and mutation intolerance generates the equilibrium or stasis present throughout much of the fossil record and 2) the accumulation of regulatory elements and recombination within these same genes-often derived from transposable elements-drives punctuated bursts of morphological divergence and speciation across metazoa. This two-part hypothesis helps to explain the features that characterize PE, providing a theoretical genetic basis for the once-controversial theory. Also see the video abstract here https://youtu.be/C-fu-ks5yDs.
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