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Phenotypic plasticity

 

 
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Phenotypic plasticity
 
 
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The ability of an organism with a given genotype
Genotype

The genotype is the trait we can't see. The genotype is the Genetics constitution of a cell, an organism, or an individual usually with reference to a specific character under consideration....
 to change its phenotype
Phenotype

A phenotype is any observable characteristic or trait_ of an organism: such as its morphology , development, biochemical or physiological properties, or behavior....
 in response to changes in the environment is called phenotypic plasticity. Such plasticity in some cases expresses as several highly morphologically distinct results; in other cases, a continuous norm of reaction describes the functional interrelationship of a range of environments to a range of phenotypes.






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Trait Scale Bimodal
The ability of an organism with a given genotype
Genotype

The genotype is the trait we can't see. The genotype is the Genetics constitution of a cell, an organism, or an individual usually with reference to a specific character under consideration....
 to change its phenotype
Phenotype

A phenotype is any observable characteristic or trait_ of an organism: such as its morphology , development, biochemical or physiological properties, or behavior....
 in response to changes in the environment is called phenotypic plasticity. Such plasticity in some cases expresses as several highly morphologically distinct results; in other cases, a continuous norm of reaction describes the functional interrelationship of a range of environments to a range of phenotypes. The term was originally conceived in the context of development
Morphogenesis

Morphogenesis , is the physical process that gives rise to the shape of an organism. It is one of three fundamental aspects of developmental biology along with the control of cell growth and cellular differentiation....
, but is now more broadly applied to include changes that occur during the adult life of an organism, such as behaviour.

Organisms of fixed genotype may differ in the amount of phenotypic plasticity they display when exposed to the same environmental change. Hence phenotypic plasticity can evolve and be adaptive if fitness is increased by changing phenotype. Immobile organisms such as plants have well developed phenotypic plasticity, giving a clue to the adaptive significance of plasticity.

A highly illustrative example of phenotypic plasticity is found in the social insects
Eusociality

Eusociality is a term used for the highest level of social organization in a hierarchical classification. The term "eusocial" was introduced in 1966 by Suzanne Batra and given a more definitive meaning by E....
, colonies of which depend on the division of their members into distinct castes
Caste

Castes are hereditary systems of wikt:occupation, endogamy, culture, social class, and political power, the assignment of individuals to places in the social hierarchy is determined by social group and culture....
, such as workers and guards. These two castes differ dramatically in appearance and behaviour. However, while these differences are genetic in basis, they are not inherited; they arise during development and depend on the manner of treatment of the eggs by the queen and the workers, who manipulate such factors as embryonic diet and incubation temperature. The genome
Genome

In classical genetics, the genome of a diploid organism including eukarya refers to a full set of chromosomes or genes in a gamete; thereby, a regular somatic cell contains two full sets of genomes....
 of each individual contains all the instructions needed to develop into any one of several 'morphs
Polymorphism (biology)

Polymorphism in biology occurs when two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species ? in other words, the occurrence of more than one form or morph....
', but only the genes that form part of one developmental program are activated.

In epidemiology
Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine....
, a theory is that rising incidences of coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease

Coronary artery disease is the end result of the accumulation of atheroma within the walls of the Coronary circulation that supply the myocardium with oxygen and nutrients....
 and type II diabetes in human populations undergoing industrialization
Industrialization

Industrialization is the process of social and economic change whereby a human group is transformed from a pre-industrial society into an industry one....
 is due to a mismatch between a metabolic phenotype determined in development and the nutritional environment an individual is subsequently exposed to. This is known as the 'thrifty phenotype
Thrifty phenotype

It has been suggested that in poor nutritional conditions, a pregnant female can modify the development of her unborn child such that it will be prepared for survival in an environment in which resources are likely to be short, resulting in a thrifty phenotype ....
' hypothesis (see evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology

Evolutionary psychology attempts to explain Mind and psychology Trait theorys?such as memory, perception, or language?as adaptations, that is, as the functional products of natural selection or sexual selection....
).

See also

  • Developmental biology
    Developmental biology

    Developmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, cellular differentiation and "morphogenesis," which is the process that gives rise to biological tissues, organ s and anatomy....
  • Evolutionary physiology
    Evolutionary physiology

    Evolutionary physiology is the study of physiological evolution, which is to say, the manner in which the functional characteristics of individuals in a population of organisms have responded to selection across multiple generations during the history of the population....
  • Beneficial acclimation hypothesis
    Beneficial acclimation hypothesis

    The Beneficial Acclimation Hypothesis is the physiology hypothesis that acclimating to a particular environment provides an organism with advantages in that environment....


External links

  • Special issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology concerning
  • Massimo Pigliucci’s Evolutionary Ecology Lab
  • Developmental Plasticity and Evolution - from American Scientist

Further reading