Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 3, 2025

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
Published on: February 3, 2023
Digest: Stable phenotypes, fluid genotypes: how stochasticity impacts network evolution and speciation
Maddie E James1,2, Nicholas L V O'Brien1,2, Anuraag Bukkuri3
1Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
Abstract:
A longstanding goal of evolutionary biology is to understand the relationship between genotype and phenotype. Schiffman and Ralph use mathematical modeling to theoretically examine how the genetic network underlying a conserved phenotype can change over time. They found that when phenotypically identical populations with different gene network configurations interbreed, hybrid incompatibilities can arise. These results suggest that neutral processes could play a major role in driving speciation.
Related Concept Videos
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift
Speciation Rates
Genetics of Speciation
Genetic Drift
Gene Flow
Formation of Species

