DOCSLIB.ORG

A Quick Review from Earlier in the Course. to the Extent That We Saw Development It Was As a Constraint

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Quick Review from Earlier in the Course. to the Extent That We Saw Development It Was As a Constraint A quick review from earlier in the course. To the extent that we saw development it was as a constraint - The number of cervical vertebrae in mammals - Which digits are lost in lineages that evolve fewer digits Almost all mammals have 7 cervical vertebrae, it is not for a functional reason (swans have 22-25, ducks 16) -Hox genes are involved in axial patterning & regulating cell proliferation -Human children with embryonic cancers have a 125x risk of cervical ribs -Human children born with cervical ribs have a 120x risk of early childhood cancer -Taxa with more cervical vertebrae have lower metabolic and cancer rates (birds, reptiles, amphibs, manatees, sloth) -Pleiotropy of Hox genes prevents the evolution of novel # of cervical vertebrae in taxa with cancer risk Galis, F. 1999. Why do almost all mammals have seven cervical vertebrae? Developmental constraints, Hox genes, and cancer. J. Exp. Zool. / Mol. Dev. Evol. 285: 19-26. http://wwwbio.leidenuniv.nl/~galis/ Patterns of digit loss in tetrapods correlate 3 4 2 1 5 inversely with order of digit development 3 4 2 1 5 lost last lost first (perrisodactyls, horses in particular) Patterns of digit loss in tetrapods correlate 3 4 2 1 5 inversely with order of digit development Skink limbs 3 4 2 1 5 Chick limbs lost last lost first (skinks and chickens too) Patterns of digit loss in tetrapods correlate 3 4 2 1 5 inversely with order of digit development 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 lost last lost first (caudata) Exception that proves the rule A quick review from earlier in the course. To the extent that we saw development it was as a constraint - The number of cervical vertebrae in mammals - Which digits are lost in lineages that evolve fewer digits But the study of the connection between development and evolution goes far deeper than this. Phenotype: what an organism looks or acts like. Phenotypic evolution is usually what we care about the most. Genotype: the DNA of an organism - The phenotypes of organisms are determined (in part) by their genotypes. - Heredity is of genotypes not phenotypes Variation GENOTYPIC Heredity Selection PHENOTYPIC We must understand both genotypes and phenotypes; and their relationship. The process of development connects genotypes and phenotypes. Phenotype Development Genotype The relationship between genotype and phenotype is sometimes called the genotype:phenotype map. Studying this has been a long-standing part of biology in general; evolutionary biology as well. We will look at 3 approaches: 1. Comparative embryology - Haeckel, 1800s 2. Allometric studies - Gould & D'Arcy Thompson, 1900s 3. Molecular genetics - 1990s + The process of development connects genotypes and phenotypes. Phenotype Development Genotype The relationship between genotype and phenotype is sometimes called the genotype:phenotype map. Studying this has been a long-standing part of biology in general; evolutionary biology as well. We will look at 3 approaches: 1. Comparative embryology - Haeckel, 1800s 2. Allometric studies - Gould & D'Arcy Thompson, 1900s 3. Molecular genetics - 1990s + First approach - Haeckel, 1800s The first evolutionary approach to development was by Ernst Haeckel in the 1800s. His idea was that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny; the developing organism develops through its previous evolutionary stages until it reaches its final form. By this model, evolution works by adding more developmental steps onto the end of the ancestral developmental program. Haeckel saw evidence for this in the similarity of developing mammal embryos to fish and amphibians. Next slide - Haeckel's famous drawing First approach - Haeckel, 1800s First approach - Haeckel, 1800s The first evolutionary approach to development was by Ernst Haeckel in the 1800s. His idea was that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny; the developing organism develops through its previous evolutionary stages until it reaches its final form. By this model, evolution works by adding more developmental steps onto the end of the ancestral developmental program. Problems with Haeckel's model: - Adult features of ancestors not really seen (as predicted by Haeckel) - Some species skip developmental steps (e.g., direct developing sea urchins) - Development of traits doesn't proceed at same relative rates in all organisms (heterochrony) - Some species appear to cut development short instead of adding terminal steps (paedomorphic) These weaknesses were known fairly quickly; but better tools (math, DNA) to explain development had to wait until 20th century. The process of development connects genotypes and phenotypes. Phenotype Development Genotype The relationship between genotype and phenotype is sometimes called the genotype:phenotype map. Studying this has been a long-standing part of biology in general; evolutionary biology as well. We will look at 3 approaches: 1. Comparative embryology - Haeckel, 1800s 2. Allometric studies - Gould & D'Arcy Thompson, 1900s 3. Molecular genetics - 1990s + Second approach - allometry, 1900s As organisms grow (develop) different parts of them grow at different rates - this leads to different shapes. Maybe small changes in the relative growth rates (due to genotypic changes) can cause big differences in the final form (phenotype)... We can plot the sizes of height traits over time (age) and the resulting curve is termed an ontogenetic trajectory. length Second approach - allometry, 1900s We can plot the sizes of traits over time (age) and the resulting curve is termed an ontogenetic trajectory. Different developmental rates or durations would result in different final shapes head head body body Second approach - allometry, 1900s Hypermorphosis 4 types of Acceleration developmental change: - Hypermorphosis - Progenesis Log(head) - Acceleration - Neoteny 2 phenotypic results: Progenesis - Peramorphosis - Paedomorphosis Neoteny Log(body) Second approach - allometry, 1900s Many salamanders have gills when juveniles and then as they mature they lose the gills. Some species of salamanders have gills as adults - neoteny causing paedomorphosis juvenile Ambystoma mabeei adult Ambystoma mabeei adult Necturus spp. Second approach - allometry, 1900s Irish elk antlers are HUGE But they are proportional to the size of the body along a height:antler allometric curve - hypermorphosis creating peramorphosis Antler size Shoulder Height Second approach - allometry, 1900s Second approach - allometry, 1900s A more sophisticated prediction of relative growth rates can be done by using a grid and altering growth in X and Y directions in each grid. (D'Arcy Thompson) This approach can help us understand the mola mola, one of the weirdest fish in the world Second approach - allometry, 1900s A more sophisticated prediction of relative growth rates can be done by using a grid and altering growth in X and Y directions in each grid. (D'Arcy Thompson) Pufferfish and the mola mola are in the same order, fairly closely related. Similarities in the skeleton are apparent. Second approach - allometry, 1900s A more sophisticated prediction of relative growth rates can be done by using a grid and altering growth in X and Y directions in each grid. (D'Arcy Thompson) Pufferfish and the mola mola are in the same order, fairly closely related. Developmental mutations that change rates of growth in different regions can "transform" one into the other. Second approach - allometry, 1900s If we reverse previous head:body ratio; head starts relatively large and grows slower than body - neoteny would therefore lead to relative larger head for the body Second approach - allometry, 1900s If we reverse previous head:body ratio; head starts relatively large and grows slower than body - neoteny would therefore lead to relative larger head for the body Selection for increased intelligence (via larger relative brain size in adults) could act via neoteny leading to paedomorphosis - the adult looking like the younger version of ancestral species. Do human heads look like juvenile chimpanzees/human ancestors? Thompson's grid? Second approach - allometry, 1900s Second approach - allometry, 1900s Human faces may have arisen via neoteny from ancestral primate Cause or correlation? Other correlations? The process of development connects genotypes and phenotypes. Phenotype Development Genotype The relationship between genotype and phenotype is sometimes called the genotype:phenotype map. Studying this has been a long-standing part of biology in general; evolutionary biology as well. We will look at 3 approaches: 1. Comparative embryology - Haeckel, 1800s 2. Allometric studies - Gould & D'Arcy Thompson, 1900s 3. Molecular genetics - 1990s + Third approach - Molecular, 1990s Molecular developmental evolution Using modern molecular tools to look directly at genotypic differences and their effect on phenotype - specifically how when and where genes are expressed is altered. Regulatory sequences control gene expression during development. Mutations in these sequences can change the function of a protein. biochemical function vs evolutionary function It is now thought that the evolution of regulation may be a more potent force for evolution than evolution of protein biochemical function. What is a gene anyway? Third approach - Molecular, 1990s Transcription factors (trans elements) are proteins that bind to binding sites in the DNA (cis elements), turning the gene on or off. The sequence of each binding site is critical to the binding of the trans elements. Evolution of these binding sites can lead to changes in gene expression during development. The trans
Load more

Recommended publications
  • How Morphological Development Can Guide Evolution Sam Kriegman1,*, Nick Cheney1, and Josh Bongard1
    How morphological development can guide evolution Sam Kriegman1,*, Nick Cheney1, and Josh Bongard1 1University of Vermont, Department of Computer Science, Burlington, VT, USA *[email protected] ABSTRACT Organisms result from adaptive processes interacting across different time scales. One such interaction is that between development and evolution. Models have shown that development sweeps over several traits in a single agent, sometimes exposing promising static traits. Subsequent evolution can then canalize these rare traits. Thus, development can, under the right conditions, increase evolvability. Here, we report on a previously unknown phenomenon when embodied agents are allowed to develop and evolve: Evolution discovers body plans robust to control changes, these body plans become genetically assimilated, yet controllers for these agents are not assimilated. This allows evolution to continue climbing fitness gradients by tinkering with the developmental programs for controllers within these permissive body plans. This exposes a previously unknown detail about the Baldwin effect: instead of all useful traits becoming genetically assimilated, only traits that render the agent robust to changes in other traits become assimilated. We refer to this as differential canalization. This finding also has implications for the evolutionary design of artificial and embodied agents such as robots: robots robust to internal changes in their controllers may also be robust to external changes in their environment, such as transferal from simulation to reality or deployment in novel environments. Introduction The shape of life changes on many different time scales. From generation to generation, populations gradually increase in complexity and relative competency. At the individual level, organisms grow from a single-celled egg and exhibit extreme postnatal change as they interact with the outside world during their lifetimes.
    [Show full text]
  • Transformations of Lamarckism Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology Gerd B
    Transformations of Lamarckism Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology Gerd B. M ü ller, G ü nter P. Wagner, and Werner Callebaut, editors The Evolution of Cognition , edited by Cecilia Heyes and Ludwig Huber, 2000 Origination of Organismal Form: Beyond the Gene in Development and Evolutionary Biology , edited by Gerd B. M ü ller and Stuart A. Newman, 2003 Environment, Development, and Evolution: Toward a Synthesis , edited by Brian K. Hall, Roy D. Pearson, and Gerd B. M ü ller, 2004 Evolution of Communication Systems: A Comparative Approach , edited by D. Kimbrough Oller and Ulrike Griebel, 2004 Modularity: Understanding the Development and Evolution of Natural Complex Systems , edited by Werner Callebaut and Diego Rasskin-Gutman, 2005 Compositional Evolution: The Impact of Sex, Symbiosis, and Modularity on the Gradualist Framework of Evolution , by Richard A. Watson, 2006 Biological Emergences: Evolution by Natural Experiment , by Robert G. B. Reid, 2007 Modeling Biology: Structure, Behaviors, Evolution , edited by Manfred D. Laubichler and Gerd B. M ü ller, 2007 Evolution of Communicative Flexibility: Complexity, Creativity, and Adaptability in Human and Animal Communication , edited by Kimbrough D. Oller and Ulrike Griebel, 2008 Functions in Biological and Artifi cial Worlds: Comparative Philosophical Perspectives , edited by Ulrich Krohs and Peter Kroes, 2009 Cognitive Biology: Evolutionary and Developmental Perspectives on Mind, Brain, and Behavior , edited by Luca Tommasi, Mary A. Peterson, and Lynn Nadel, 2009 Innovation in Cultural Systems: Contributions from Evolutionary Anthropology , edited by Michael J. O ’ Brien and Stephen J. Shennan, 2010 The Major Transitions in Evolution Revisited , edited by Brett Calcott and Kim Sterelny, 2011 Transformations of Lamarckism: From Subtle Fluids to Molecular Biology , edited by Snait B.
    [Show full text]
  • Study of Natural Longlife Juvenility and Tissue Regeneration in Caudate Amphibians and Potential Application of Resulting Data in Biomedicine
    Journal of Developmental Biology Review Study of Natural Longlife Juvenility and Tissue Regeneration in Caudate Amphibians and Potential Application of Resulting Data in Biomedicine Eleonora N. Grigoryan Kol’tsov Institute of Developmental Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119334 Moscow, Russia; [email protected]; Tel.: +7-(499)-1350052 Abstract: The review considers the molecular, cellular, organismal, and ontogenetic properties of Urodela that exhibit the highest regenerative abilities among tetrapods. The genome specifics and the expression of genes associated with cell plasticity are analyzed. The simplification of tissue structure is shown using the examples of the sensory retina and brain in mature Urodela. Cells of these and some other tissues are ready to initiate proliferation and manifest the plasticity of their phenotype as well as the correct integration into the pre-existing or de novo forming tissue structure. Without excluding other factors that determine regeneration, the pedomorphosis and juvenile properties, identified on different levels of Urodele amphibians, are assumed to be the main explanation for their high regenerative abilities. These properties, being fundamental for tissue regeneration, have been lost by amniotes. Experiments aimed at mammalian cell rejuvenation currently use various approaches. They include, in particular, methods that use secretomes from regenerating tissues of caudate amphibians and fish for inducing regenerative responses of cells. Such an approach, along with those developed on the basis of knowledge about the molecular and genetic nature and age dependence of regeneration, may become one more step in the development of regenerative medicine Citation: Grigoryan, E.N. Study of Keywords: salamanders; juvenile state; tissue regeneration; extracts; microvesicles; cell rejuvenation Natural Longlife Juvenility and Tissue Regeneration in Caudate Amphibians and Potential Application of Resulting Data in 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Eugenics, Biopolitics, and the Challenge of the Techno-Human Condition
    Nathan VAN CAMP Redesigning Life The emerging development of genetic enhancement technologies has recently become the focus of a public and philosophical debate between proponents and opponents of a liberal eugenics – that is, the use of Eugenics, Biopolitics, and the Challenge these technologies without any overall direction or governmental control. Inspired by Foucault’s, Agamben’s of the Techno-Human Condition and Esposito’s writings about biopower and biopolitics, Life Redesigning the author sees both positions as equally problematic, as both presuppose the existence of a stable, autonomous subject capable of making decisions concerning the future of human nature, while in the age of genetic technology the nature of this subjectivity shall be less an origin than an effect of such decisions. Bringing together a biopolitical critique of the way this controversial issue has been dealt with in liberal moral and political philosophy with a philosophical analysis of the nature of and the relation between life, politics, and technology, the author sets out to outline the contours of a more responsible engagement with genetic technologies based on the idea that technology is an intrinsic condition of humanity. Nathan VAN CAMP Nathan VAN Philosophy Philosophy Nathan Van Camp is postdoctoral researcher at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He focuses on continental philosophy, political theory, biopolitics, and critical theory. & Politics ISBN 978-2-87574-281-0 Philosophie & Politique 27 www.peterlang.com P.I.E. Peter Lang Nathan VAN CAMP Redesigning Life The emerging development of genetic enhancement technologies has recently become the focus of a public and philosophical debate between proponents and opponents of a liberal eugenics – that is, the use of Eugenics, Biopolitics, and the Challenge these technologies without any overall direction or governmental control.
    [Show full text]
  • Personality Traits in Competition Dogs – a Quantitative Genetic Study on Competition Dogs
    Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science Personality traits in competition dogs – A quantitative genetic study on competition dogs Evelina Kess Master´s thesis • 30 credits Animal Science Uppsala 2019 Personality traits in competition dogs – A quantitative genetic study on competition dogs Personlighet hos tävlingshundar – En kvantitativ genetisk studie på tävlingshundar Evelina Kess Supervisor: Katja Nilsson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics Examiner: Erling Strandberg, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics Credits: 30 credits Level: Second cycle, A2E Course title: Independent project in Animal Science Course code: EX0870 Programme/education: Animal Science Course coordinating department: Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics Place of publication: Uppsala Year of publication: 2019 Online publication: https://stud.epsilon.slu.se Cover photo: Carla Schmeyer Keywords: dog, personality, competition, heritability, dog mentality assessment, IPO, IGP, German shepherd, Belgian shepherd Malinois, Dutch Shepherd Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between per- formance and personality in three working dog breeds. The breeds that were chosen were the German Shepherd, the Belgian Shepherd Malinois and the Dutch Shepherd (Short haired). Pedigree data included pedigrees from 28536 dogs, out of those dogs 26 572 dogs also had personality test data and 1714 of those dogs had IPO results. The relationship between success in IPO and the five personality traits Playfulness, Curiosity/Fearlessness, Chase-prone- ness, Sociability and Aggressiveness was analysed using a linear model. Questionnaire data from a modified C-BARQ about everyday behaviour was also collected for analysis.
    [Show full text]
  • Differences in Neural Stem Cell Identity and Differentiation Capacity Drive Divergent Regenerative Outcomes in Lizards and Salamanders
    Differences in neural stem cell identity and differentiation capacity drive divergent regenerative outcomes in lizards and salamanders Aaron X. Suna,b,c, Ricardo Londonoa, Megan L. Hudnalla, Rocky S. Tuana,c, and Thomas P. Lozitoa,1 aCenter for Cellular and Molecular Engineering, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219; bMedical Scientist Training Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213; and cDepartment of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Edited by Robb Krumlauf, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, and approved July 24, 2018 (received for review March 2, 2018) While lizards and salamanders both exhibit the ability to re- lizard tail regenerate (20), and the key to understanding this generate amputated tails, the outcomes achieved by each are unique arrangement of tissues is in identifying the patterning markedly different. Salamanders, such as Ambystoma mexicanum, signals involved. regenerate nearly identical copies of original tails. Regenerated lizard Both lizards and salamanders follow similar mechanisms of tails, however, exhibit important morphological differences compared tail development during embryonic development. The embryonic with originals. Some of these differences concern dorsoventral pat- spinal cord and surrounding structures are formed and patterned terning of regenerated skeletal and spinal cord tissues; regenerated by the neural tube (21, 22). The neural tube exhibits distinct + salamander tail tissues exhibit dorsoventral patterning, while re- domains: roof plate (characterized by expression of Pax7 , BMP- + + + grown lizard tissues do not. Additionally, regenerated lizard tails lack 2 , and Sox10 among others), lateral domain (Pax6 ), and floor + + characteristically roof plate-associated structures, such as dorsal root plate (Shh , FoxA2 ).
    [Show full text]
  • Genetics of Canine Behavior
    ACTA VET. BRNO 2007, 76: 431-444; doi:10.2754/avb200776030431 Review article Genetics of Canine Behavior K.A. HOUPT American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, Animal Behavior Clinic, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA Received February 6, 2007 Accepted June 5, 2007 Abstract Houpt K.A.: Genetics of Canine Behavior. Acta Vet. Brno 2007, 76: 431-444. Canine behavioral genetics is a rapidly moving area of research. In this review, breed differences in behavior are emphasized. Dog professionals’ opinions of the various breeds on many behavior traits reveal factors such as reactivity, aggression, ease of training and immaturity. Heritability of various behaviors – hunting ability, playfulness, and aggression to people and other dogs – has been calculated. The neurotransmitters believed to be involved in aggression are discussed. The gene for aggression remains elusive, but identifi cation of single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with breed-specifi c behavior traits are leading us in the right direction. The unique syndrome of aggression found in English Springer Spaniels may be a model for detecting the gene involved. Dog aggression, heritability, temperament Behavior is a result of nature (genetics) and nurture (learning or experience). We shall review the history of canine behavioral genetics and explore the latest fi ndings. The publication of the canine genome allows us to make some inferences (Kirkness et al. 2003). Foxes One of the most thorough studies of canid behavioral genetics deals with foxes, not dogs. Selection for a tame and for an aggressive strain of silver foxes over 30 years by Dmitry Belyaev and Lyudmila Trut resulted in large differences in behavior and in morphology (Trut et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Evolutionary Developmental Biology 573
    EVOC20 29/08/2003 11:15 AM Page 572 Evolutionary 20 Developmental Biology volutionary developmental biology, now often known Eas “evo-devo,” is the study of the relation between evolution and development. The relation between evolution and development has been the subject of research for many years, and the chapter begins by looking at some classic ideas. However, the subject has been transformed in recent years as the genes that control development have begun to be identified. This chapter looks at how changes in these developmental genes, such as changes in their spatial or temporal expression in the embryo, are associated with changes in adult morphology. The origin of a set of genes controlling development may have opened up new and more flexible ways in which evolution could occur: life may have become more “evolvable.” EVOC20 29/08/2003 11:15 AM Page 573 CHAPTER 20 / Evolutionary Developmental Biology 573 20.1 Changes in development, and the genes controlling development, underlie morphological evolution Morphological structures, such as heads, legs, and tails, are produced in each individual organism by development. The organism begins life as a single cell. The organism grows by cell division, and the various cell types (bone cells, skin cells, and so on) are produced by differentiation within dividing cell lines. When one species evolves into Morphological evolution is driven another, with a changed morphological form, the developmental process must have by developmental evolution changed too. If the descendant species has longer legs, it is because the developmental process that produces legs has been accelerated, or extended over time.
    [Show full text]
  • What Can Be More Curious Than That the Hand of a Man, Formed for Grasping, That of a Mole for Digging, the Leg of a Horse, the P
    What can be more curious than that the hand of a man, formed for grasping, that of a mole for digging, the leg of a horse, the paddle of a porpoise, and the wing of a bat should all be constructed on the same pattern and should include similar bones, and in the same relative positions? Charles Darwin, 1859 Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo) “It is generally acknowledged that all organic beings have been formed on two great laws - Unity of Type and Conditions of Existence.” Charles Darwin, 1859 Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo) “Unity of Type” - emphasizes similarities: homologies “Conditions of Existence”- emphasizes differences - adaptations Descent with Modification 1 Fig. 1.13 - Homology in Structures Figure 1.5 The Similarities and Differences among Different Vertebrate Embryos Figure 23.1(1) Relationships among Phyla Drosophila C. elegans 2 Features of the Common Ancestor of Protostomes and Deuterostomes (ʻthe PDAʼ) Triploblastic (3 cell layers) Bilaterally symmetric Molecular pathways / systems in common Table 23.1 Dev Regulatory Genes I (PCD pathways) Table 23.1 Dev Regulatory Genes II C. elegans C. elegans (RTK signaling) C. elegans, 3 Figure 23.1B Mouse Pax6 (eyeless homolog) expressed in fly leg generates ectopic eyes Figure 23.2 Expression of Regulatory Transcription Factors in Drosophila and in Vertebrates Along the Anterior-Posterior Axis Molecular pathways/systems likely in the PDA (just some of them) RTK signaling HOX genes in homeotic complex Programmed cell death / apoptosis pathway Wnt signaling
    [Show full text]
  • Trying to Fix the Development in Evolutionary Developmental Psychology David S
    Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research Pitzer Faculty Scholarship 7-1-2003 Trying to Fix the Development in Evolutionary Developmental Psychology David S. Moore Pitzer College Recommended Citation Moore, David S. "Trying to Fix the Development in Evolutionary Developmental Psychology." Review of The Origins of Human Nature: Evolutionary Developmental Psychology, by David F. Bjorklund and Anthony D. Pellegrini. The American Journal of Psychology 116.2 (2003): 299-307. Print. This Article - postprint is brought to you for free and open access by the Pitzer Faculty Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The content of this open-access post-print article is the same as that contained in the published article with the following reference: Moore, D. S. (2003, Summer). Trying to fix the development in Evolutionary Developmental Psychology. The American Journal of Psychology, 299 – 307. Trying to Fix the Development in Evolutionary Developmental Psychology If we agree for the moment that there is such a thing as “human nature,” we immediately encounter an extraordinarily thorny question: where does our nature come from? This question drives David Bjorklund and Anthony Pellegrini’s new book, The Origins of Human Nature: Evolutionary Developmental Psychology. The question is so challenging, in part, because human nature reflects at least two conceptually distinct processes, evolution and development. The former, which operates across generations, allows for the continued existence of characteristics that permitted survival and reproduction in our ancestors; the latter, which operates during an individual’s lifetime, contributes to the appearance of all of our characteristics.
    [Show full text]
  • Phenotypic Plasticity - Evolutionary Biology - Oxford Bibliographies 12/1/17, 750 AM
    Phenotypic Plasticity - Evolutionary Biology - Oxford Bibliographies 12/1/17, 7'50 AM Phenotypic Plasticity David W. Pfennig, Nick Levis LAST MODIFIED: 25 OCTOBER 2017 DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780199941728-0093 Introduction Phenotypic plasticity (often termed “plasticity”) is generally defined as the capacity of an individual organism to alter its behavior, physiology/gene expression, and/or morphology (i.e., some aspect of its phenotype) in direct response to changing environmental conditions. Plasticity is ubiquitous and many have suggested that it can have important ecological and evolutionary implications. Among other things, plasticity may allow organisms to persist in otherwise unfavorable environments, produce novel, complex traits, and experience altered interactions with other members of their community. In recent decades, the evolutionary power of plasticity has received renewed interest. In particular, the process of genetic accommodation has dominated the literature because of its potential relevance to all aspects of biology. However, there is some skepticism regarding the importance of phenotypic plasticity generally, and genetic accommodation specifically, in evolution. Indeed, despite plasticity being acknowledged for over 100 years, its importance to evolutionary biology has evolved from being a relevant source of phenotypic variation, to being considered just developmental noise, to possibly forming the basis of an extended evolutionary synthesis. While phenotypic plasticity may be viewed as a primarily ecological/evolutionary phenomenon, it touches on such diverse fields as behavior, learning, conservation biology, and human health. Because of its pervasiveness, appreciation for and understanding of phenotypic plasticity would be beneficial to all biologists. General Overview Although interest in phenotypic plasticity has increased since the 1980s (Forsman 2014), the resulting proliferation of the literature can make it difficult to keep concepts organized.
    [Show full text]
  • Transcriptional Neoteny in the Human Brain
    Transcriptional neoteny in the human brain Mehmet Somela,b,1, Henriette Franzb,c, Zheng Yana, Anna Lorencb, Song Guoa, Thomas Gigerb, Janet Kelsob, Birgit Nickelb, Michael Dannemannb, Sabine Bahnd, Maree J. Webstere, Cynthia S. Weickertf, Michael Lachmannb,2, Svante Pa¨ a¨ bob,2, and Philipp Khaitovicha,b,1,2 aPartner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yue Yang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; bMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; cMax Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg 11, D-37077 Go¨ttingen, Germany; dInstitute of Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, United Kingdom; eStanley Medical Research Institute, 9800 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850; and fMacquarie Group Foundation Chair of Schizophrenia Research, Schizophrenia Research Institute, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia Edited by Morris Goodman, Wayne State University, School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, and approved February 18, 2009 (received for review January 16, 2009) In development, timing is of the utmost importance, and the timing brain development between humans and apes would be crucial for of developmental processes often changes as organisms evolve. In understanding human evolution. Here we address this issue by human evolution, developmental retardation, or neoteny, has been analyzing genome-wide gene expression levels in human, chimpan- proposed as a possible mechanism that contributed to the rise of zee, and macaque brains during postnatal development. many human-specific features, including an increase in brain size and the emergence of human-specific cognitive traits.
    [Show full text]