Integrating Complex Environments to Reveal Integrated Phenotypes by Cryptic Developmental Plasticity.

Area of Science:

• Developmental biology
• Ecology
• Evolutionary biology

Background:

• Phenotypic integration is studied across biological levels, often from developmental and functional viewpoints.
• Developmental plasticity is increasingly recognized for revealing complex, integrated phenotypes.
• Phenotypes likely result from interactions between development and function during ecological tasks in specific environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To detail an approach for investigating cryptic plastic potential and revealing novel phenotypes within specific developmental environments.
• To integrate multifactorial environments with multidimensional plastic responses.
• To evaluate how cryptic plasticity reorganizes development and structures variation into novel phenotypes.

Main Methods:

• Introduction of Parental Developmental Environment (PDE) and Experimental Developmental Environment (EDE) concepts.
• Utilizing EDE to expose cryptic developmental processes and expand phenotypic space.
• Application of the framework in studies with Anostomidae fish from neotropical regions.

Main Results:

• The experimental framework allows evaluation of cryptic plasticity's role in development.
• Demonstrates how environmental shifts can reorganize development and structure variation.
• Highlights the emergence of novel phenotypes under altered developmental conditions.

Conclusions:

• The proposed devo-eco approach offers an experimentally-grounded method to study phenotypic plasticity.
• It provides a complementary expansion to existing research programs on phenotype development.
• Reveals novel phenotypes by exploring cryptic plasticity within defined developmental environments.