This review begins by discussing how the evolution of phenotypic plasticity, followed by genetic assimilation, might promote the origins of new traits and possibly fuel speciation and adaptive radiation. The evidence implicating genetic assimilation in evolutionary innovation and diversification is then briefly considered. Next, the potential causes of phenotypic plasticity generally and genetic assimilation specifically are examined at the genetic, molecular and physiological levels and approaches that can improve our understanding of these mechanisms are described. The review concludes by outlining major challenges for future work.
Identifying and characterizing the proximate mechanisms involved in phenotypic plasticity and genetic assimilation promises to help advance our basic understanding of evolutionary innovation and diversification.
这篇综述首先讨论了表型可塑性的进化,其次是遗传同化,可能会促进新性状的起源,并可能促进燃料形态和适应性辐射。然后简要考虑了遗传同化在进化创新和多样化中的证据。接下来,表型可塑性的潜在原因一般和遗传同化特别是在遗传检查,描述了可以提高我们对这些机制的理解的分子和生理水平以及方法。审查最后概述了未来工作的主要挑战。
识别和表征表型可塑性和遗传同化中涉及的近似机制有望帮助推进我们对进化创新和多样化的基本理解。