scholarly journals Phenotypic plasticity in development and evolution: facts and concepts

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1540) ◽  
pp. 547-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Fusco ◽  
Alessandro Minelli
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Alternative Phenotypes ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
Comprehensive Picture ◽  
Complex Relationships

This theme issue pursues an exploration of the potential of taking into account the environmental sensitivity of development to explaining the evolution of metazoan life cycles, with special focus on complex life cycles and the role of developmental plasticity. The evolution of switches between alternative phenotypes as a response to different environmental cues and the evolution of the control of the temporal expression of alternative phenotypes within an organism's life cycle are here treated together as different dimensions of the complex relationships between genotype and phenotype, fostering the emergence of a more general and comprehensive picture of phenotypic evolution through a quite diverse sample of case studies. This introductory article reviews fundamental facts and concepts about phenotypic plasticity, adopting the most authoritative terminology in use in the current literature. The main topics are types and components of phenotypic variation, the evolution of organismal traits through plasticity, the origin and evolution of phenotypic plasticity and its adaptive value.

scholarly journals Developmental plasticity and the evolution of animal complex life cycles

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1540) ◽  
pp. 631-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Minelli ◽  
Giuseppe Fusco
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Ecological Condition ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Transcription Profiles ◽  
Alternative Phenotypes ◽  
Reproductive Events

Metazoan life cycles can be complex in different ways. A number of diverse phenotypes and reproductive events can sequentially occur along the cycle, and at certain stages a variety of developmental and reproductive options can be available to the animal, the choice among which depends on a combination of organismal and environmental conditions. We hypothesize that a diversity of phenotypes arranged in developmental sequence throughout an animal's life cycle may have evolved by genetic assimilation of alternative phenotypes originally triggered by environmental cues. This is supported by similarities between the developmental mechanisms mediating phenotype change and alternative phenotype determination during ontogeny and the common ecological condition that favour both forms of phenotypic variation. The comparison of transcription profiles from different developmental stages throughout a complex life cycle with those from alternative phenotypes in closely related polyphenic animals is expected to offer critical evidence upon which to evaluate our hypothesis.

scholarly journals Phenotypic plasticity is aligned with phenological adaptation on micro- and macroevolutionary timescales

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen P. De Lisle ◽  
Maarit I. Mäenpää ◽  
Erik I. Svensson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Adaptive Response ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Complex Life Cycles

AbstractPhenology is a key determinant of fitness, particularly in organisms with complex life cycles with dramatic transitions from an aquatic to a terrestrial life stage. Because optimum phenology is influenced by local environmental conditions, particularly temperature, phenotypic plasticity could play an important role in adaptation to seasonally variable environments. Here, we used a 18-generation longitudinal field dataset from a wild insect (the damselfly Ischnura elegans) and show that phenology has strongly advanced, coinciding with increasing temperatures in northern Europe. Using individual fitness data, we show this advancement is most likely an adaptive response towards a thermally-dependent moving fitness optimum. These field data were complemented with a laboratory experiment, revealing that developmental plasticity to temperature quantitatively matches the environmental dependence of selection and can explain the observed phenological advance. We expand the analysis to the macroevolutionary level, using a public database of over 1 million occurrence records on the phenology of Swedish damselfly and dragonfly species. Combining spatiotemporally matched temperature data and phylogenetic information, we estimated the phenological reaction norms towards temperature for 49 Swedish species. We show that thermal plasticity in phenology is more closely aligned with local adaptation for odonate species that have recently colonized northern latitudes, whereas there is more mismatch at lower latitudes. Our results show that phenological plasticity plays a key role in microevolutionary adaptation within in a single species, and also suggest that such plasticity may have facilitated post-Pleistocene range expansion at the macroevolutionary scale in this insect clade.Impact StatementOrganisms with complex life cycles must time their life-history transitions to match environmental conditions favorable to survival and reproduction. The timing of these transitions – phenology – is therefore of critical importance, and phenology a key trait in adaptive responses to climate change. Here, we use field data from a single species and phylogenetic comparative from over 1 million individual damselfly and dragonfly records to show that plasticity in phenology underlies adaptation at both the microevolutionary scale (across generations in a single species) and the macroevolutionary scale (across deep time in a clade). Our results indicates that phenotypic plasticity has the potential to explain variation in phenology and adaptive response to climate change across disparate evolutionary time scales.

scholarly journals The Plasticity and Developmental Potential of Termites

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis Revely ◽  
Seirian Sumner ◽  
Paul Eggleton
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Phenotypic Diversity ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Developmental Potential ◽  
Alternative Phenotypes ◽  
Phenotypic Complexity ◽  
The Rich

Phenotypic plasticity provides organisms with the potential to adapt to their environment and can drive evolutionary innovations. Developmental plasticity is environmentally induced variation in phenotypes during development that arise from a shared genomic background. Social insects are useful models for studying the mechanisms of developmental plasticity, due to the phenotypic diversity they display in the form of castes. However, the literature has been biased toward the study of developmental plasticity in the holometabolous social insects (i.e., bees, wasps, and ants); the hemimetabolous social insects (i.e., the termites) have received less attention. Here, we review the phenotypic complexity and diversity of termites as models for studying developmental plasticity. We argue that the current terminology used to define plastic phenotypes in social insects does not capture the diversity and complexity of these hemimetabolous social insects. We suggest that terminology used to describe levels of cellular potency could be helpful in describing the many levels of phenotypic plasticity in termites. Accordingly, we propose a conceptual framework for categorizing the changes in potential of individuals to express alternative phenotypes through the developmental life stages of termites. We compile from the literature an exemplar dataset on the phenotypic potencies expressed within and between species across the phylogeny of the termites and use this to illustrate how the potencies of different life stages of different species can be described using this framework. We highlight how this conceptual framework can help exploit the rich phenotypic diversity of termites to address fundamental questions about the evolution and mechanisms of developmental plasticity. This conceptual contribution is likely to have wider relevance to the study of other hemimetabolous insects, such as aphids and gall-forming thrips, and may even prove useful for some holometabolous social insects which have high caste polyphenism.

FAITH–BASED COMMUNITIES AND POLITICS IN DULLSTROOM-EMNOTWENI: LOCAL STORIES OF IDENTITY

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Landman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Cultural Conflicts ◽  
Local Identities ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
Local Municipality ◽  
The Face

A majority of the black community of Dullstroom-Emnotweni in the Mpumalanga highveld in the east of South Africa trace their descent back to the southern Ndebele of the so-called ‘Mapoch Gronden’, who lost their land in the 1880s to become farm workers on their own land. A hundred years later, in 1980, descendants of the ‘Mapoggers’ settled in the newly built ‘township’ of Dullstroom, called Sakhelwe, finding jobs on the railways or as domestic workers. Oral interviews with the inhabitants of Sakhelwe – a name eventually abandoned in favour of Dullstroom- Emnotweni – testify to histories of transition from landowner to farmworker to unskilled labourer. The stories also highlight cultural conflicts between people of Ndebele, Pedi and Swazi descent and the influence of decades of subordination on local identities. Research projects conducted in this and the wider area of the eMakhazeni Local Municipality reveal the struggle to maintain religious, gender and youth identities in the face of competing political interests. Service delivery, higher education, space for women and the role of faith-based organisations in particular seem to be sites of contestation. Churches and their role in development and transformation, where they compete with political parties and state institutions, are the special focus of this study. They attempt to remain free from party politics, but are nevertheless co-opted into contra-culturing the lack of service delivery, poor standards of higher education and inadequate space for women, which are outside their traditional role of sustaining an oppressed community.

Can the Lewis basicity of an isolated solvent molecule be used for characterizing solvent effects?

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Gal ◽  
Pierre-Charles Maria
Keyword(s):  
Solvent Effects ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Solvent Molecule ◽  
Lewis Base ◽  
Bulk Liquid ◽  
Donor Number ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Solution Processes ◽  
Inert Solvent

Background: The ubiquitous Lewis acid/base interactions are important in solution processes. Analytical chemistry may benefit of a better understanding of the role of Lewis basicity, at the molecular level or acting through a bulk solvent effect. Objective: To clearly delineate (i) the basicity at a molecular level, hereafter referred as solute basicity, and (ii) the solvent basicity, which is a bulk-liquid property. Method: The literature that relates Lewis basicity scales and solvent effects is analyzed. A special focus is placed on two extensive scales, the Donor Number, DN, and the BF3 affinity scale, BF3A, which were obtained by calorimetric measurement on molecules as solutes diluted in a quasi-inert solvent, and therefore define a molecular Lewis basicity. We discuss the validity of these solute scales when regarded as solvent scales, in particular when the basicity of strongly associated liquids is discussed. Results: We demonstrate the drawbacks of confusing the Lewis basicity of a solvent molecule, isolated as solute, and that of the bulk liquid solvent itself. Conclusion: Consequently, we recommend a reasoned use of the concept of Lewis basicity taking clearly into account the specificity of the process for which a Lewis basicity effect may be invoked. In particular, the action of the Lewis base, either as an isolated entity, or as a bulk liquid, must be distinguished.

The role of hormones

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Frederik Nijhout ◽  
Emily Laub
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Juvenile Hormone ◽  
Reproductive Behavior ◽  
Hormonal Control ◽  
Plastic Trait

Many behaviors of insects are stimulated, modified, or modulated by hormones. The principal hormones involved are the same as the ones that control moulting, metamorphosis, and other aspects of development, principally ecdysone and juvenile hormone. In addition, a small handful of neurosecretory hormones are involved in the control of specific behaviors. Because behavior is a plastic trait, this chapter begins by outlining the biology and hormonal control of phenotypic plasticity in insects, and how the hormonal control of behavior fits in with other aspects of the control of phenotypic plasticity. The rest of the chapter is organized around the diversity of behaviors that are known to be controlled by or affected by hormones. These include eclosion and moulting behavior, the synthesis and release of pheromones, migration, parental care, dominance, reproductive behavior, and social behavior.

Hormones and Behavior

2019 ◽  
pp. 11-26
Author(s):  
Maren N. Vitousek ◽  
Laura A. Schoenle
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Endocrine System ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
And Behavior

Hormones mediate the expression of life history traits—phenotypic traits that contribute to lifetime fitness (i.e., reproductive timing, growth rate, number and size of offspring). The endocrine system shapes phenotype by organizing tissues during developmental periods and by activating changes in behavior, physiology, and morphology in response to varying physical and social environments. Because hormones can simultaneously regulate many traits (hormonal pleiotropy), they are important mediators of life history trade-offs among growth, reproduction, and survival. This chapter reviews the role of hormones in shaping life histories with an emphasis on developmental plasticity and reversible flexibility in endocrine and life history traits. It also discusses the advantages of studying hormone–behavior interactions from an evolutionary perspective. Recent research in evolutionary endocrinology has provided insight into the heritability of endocrine traits, how selection on hormone systems may influence the evolution of life histories, and the role of hormonal pleiotropy in driving or constraining evolution.

scholarly journals Verbena officinalis Verbenaceae (Lamiales): a new plant model system for phyllotaxis research

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beata Zagórska-Marek ◽  
Magdalena Turzańska ◽  
Klaudia Chmiel
Keyword(s):  
Vascular System ◽  
Cumulative Effect ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Inflorescence Axis ◽  
Organ Identity ◽  
Lateral Organ ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Secondary Transitions

AbstractPhyllotactic diversity and developmental transitions between phyllotactic patterns are not fully understood. The plants studied so far, such as Magnolia, Torreya or Abies, are not suitable for experimental work, and the most popular model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, does not show sufficient phyllotactic variability. It has been found that in common verbena (Verbena officinalis L.), a perennial, cosmopolitan plant, phyllotaxis differs not only between growth phases in primary transitions but also along the indeterminate inflorescence axis in a series of multiple secondary transitions. The latter are no longer associated with the change in lateral organ identity, and the sequence of phyllotactic patterns is puzzling from a theoretical point of view. Data from the experiments in silico, confronted with empirical observations, suggest that secondary transitions might be triggered by the cumulative effect of fluctuations in the continuously decreasing bract primordia size. The most important finding is that the changes in the primary vascular system, associated with phyllotactic transitions, precede those taking place at the apical meristem. This raises the question of the role of the vascular system in determining primordia initiation sites, and possibly challenges the autonomy of the apex. The results of this study highlight the complex relationships between various systems that have to coordinate their growth and differentiation in the developing plant shoot. Common verbena emerges from this research as a plant that may become a new model suitable for further studies on the causes of phyllotactic transitions.

scholarly journals Hypoxia, Acidification and Inflammation: Partners in Crime in Parkinson’s Disease Pathogenesis?

Immuno ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-90
Author(s):  
Johannes Burtscher ◽  
Grégoire P. Millet
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Brain Cell ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Molecular Alterations ◽  
Research Fields

Like in other neurodegenerative diseases, protein aggregation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Differentiating characteristics of PD include the central role of α-synuclein in the aggregation pathology, a distinct vulnerability of the striato-nigral system with the related motor symptoms, as well as specific mitochondrial deficits. Which molecular alterations cause neurodegeneration and drive PD pathogenesis is poorly understood. Here, we summarize evidence of the involvement of three interdependent factors in PD and suggest that their interplay is likely a trigger and/or aggravator of PD-related neurodegeneration: hypoxia, acidification and inflammation. We aim to integrate the existing knowledge on the well-established role of inflammation and immunity, the emerging interest in the contribution of hypoxic insults and the rather neglected effects of brain acidification in PD pathogenesis. Their tight association as an important aspect of the disease merits detailed investigation. Consequences of related injuries are discussed in the context of aging and the interaction of different brain cell types, in particular with regard to potential consequences on the vulnerability of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. A special focus is put on the identification of current knowledge gaps and we emphasize the importance of related insights from other research fields, such as cancer research and immunometabolism, for neurodegeneration research. The highlighted interplay of hypoxia, acidification and inflammation is likely also of relevance for other neurodegenerative diseases, despite disease-specific biochemical and metabolic alterations.

scholarly journals 26.A. Workshop: Assessing the role of policies and actions to address childhood obesity

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Childhood Obesity ◽  
Stakeholder Engagement ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Policy Options ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Relevant Evidence ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
The Impact

Abstract   Childhood obesity has grown to become one of the most dramatic features of the global obesity epidemic, with long-term consequences. The spread of obesity has been fueled by changes in social norms and living environments that have shaped individual behaviours making them conducive to excessive and imbalanced nutrition, sedentary lifestyles, and ultimately obesity and associated diseases. The STOP project will aim to generate scientifically sound, novel and policy-relevant evidence on the factors that have contributed to the spread of childhood obesity in European countries and on the effects of alternative technological and organisational solutions and policy options available to address the problem. STOP will translate the evidence gathered and generated into indicators and measurements, policy briefs and toolkits and multi-stakeholder frameworks. A special focus of STOP is understanding the stakeholders' networks and drivers of stakeholders' action. STOP will establish new ways for policy-relevant evidence to be generated, made available and used in the design and implementation of effective and sustainable solutions for childhood obesity at the EU, national and local levels. Each of the policy work packages will: Produce evidence syntheses and impact simulations for different policy approaches;Assess selected policy approaches and actions in children cohorts and other relevant settings;Devise policy toolkits and policy guidance to support the adoption and implementation of specific actions by relevant actors;Establish a country-based European accountability and monitoring framework in each policy area. The workshop aims to: Showcase the impact of different policy options evaluated throughout the STOP project;Increase participants' understanding and awareness of the opportunities and challenges associated with the implementation of selected policies;Increase awareness of public health professionals of the importance of overcoming siloes in identifying and implementing public health policies;Increase the understanding of multi-stakeholder engagement. The discussion will explore the role of stakeholders across different policy areas. We will explore the different definitions of “stakeholders” and “multi-stakeholders” engagement. This will also be an opportunity to explore some of the benefits, risks and challenges around stakeholder engagement, and explore what are the different types of stakeholders involved in these policies as well as their roles. The workshop will offer an opportunity to: Inform participants about existing physical activity, regulatory and fiscal policies to address childhood obesity;Inform participants about new, innovative EU-level projects that aim to address childhood obesity;Outline preliminary findings of the STOP project with regards to the effectiveness of the evaluated policies;Identify some of the gaps and limitations of existing policies and discuss some of the steps to ensure successful policy implementation. Key messages Present new evidence on what policy approaches work in addressing key determinants of childhood obesity. Showcase findings on the attitudes of different stakeholders towards obesity policies, and debate the benefits, risks and challenges of multi-stakeholder engagement.

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