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Integrating Mechanistic and Evolutionary Views on Phenotypic Integration Through Hormonal Pleiotropy
Robert M Cox1, Tyler N Wittman1, Christopher D Robinson1,2
1Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904,USA.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
|May 18, 2026
Summary
Hormonal pleiotropy, where one hormone affects multiple traits, links molecular mechanisms to evolutionary patterns. This study shows how hormones structure trait covariances, influencing evolutionary responses and species divergence.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Endocrinology
- Genetics
Background:
- Phenotypic integration is studied across multiple biological scales, but linking mechanisms to evolution remains challenging.
- Hormonal pleiotropy, a single hormone influencing multiple traits, offers a potential bridge between mechanistic and evolutionary studies.
- Trait covariances serve as unifying measures of phenotypic integration across biological organization levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To integrate mechanistic and evolutionary perspectives on phenotypic integration using hormonal pleiotropy.
- To illustrate experimental approaches for quantifying hormonal regulation of phenotypic integration.
- To explore how hormonal pleiotropy shapes genetic covariances and evolutionary trajectories.
Main Methods:
- Experimental quantification of hormonal regulation of phenotypic integration at organismal and transcriptomic scales.
- Application of quantitative genetic theory and breeding designs.
- Analysis of trait covariances and genetic covariances in response to hormonal signals.
Main Results:
- Hormonal pleiotropy structures phenotypic integration and underlying genetic variances and covariances.
- Estimates of genetic variance and covariance reveal constraints imposed by hormonal pleiotropy.
- Responsiveness to hormones like testosterone can evolve at the transcriptomic level, leading to divergent phenotypes.
Conclusions:
- Hormonal pleiotropy is a key factor structuring phenotypic integration and its evolution.
- Understanding hormonal regulation of covariances is crucial for predicting evolutionary responses to selection.
- Transcriptomic evolution of hormonal responsiveness drives divergence in integrated phenotypes.
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