Phenotypic Plasticity: Molecular Mechanisms and Adaptive Significance

Abstract

Phenotypic plasticity can be broadly defined as the ability of one genotype to produce more than one phenotype when exposed to different environments, as the modification of developmental events by the environment, or as the ability of an individual organism to alter its phenotype in response to changes in environmental conditions. Not surprisingly, the study of phenotypic plasticity is innately interdisciplinary and encompasses aspects of behavior, development, ecology, evolution, genetics, genomics, and multiple physiological systems at various levels of biological organization. From an ecological and evolutionary perspective, phenotypic plasticity may be a powerful means of adaptation and dramatic examples of phenotypic plasticity include predator avoidance, insect wing polymorphisms, the timing of metamorphosis in amphibians, osmoregulation in fishes, and alternative reproductive tactics in male vertebrates. From a human health perspective, documented examples of plasticity most commonly include the results of exercise, training, and/or dieting on human morphology and physiology. Regardless of the discipline, phenotypic plasticity has increasingly become the target of a plethora of investigations with the methodological approaches utilized ranging from the molecular to whole organsimal. In this article, we provide a brief historical outlook on phenotypic plasticity; examine its potential adaptive significance; emphasize recent molecular approaches that provide novel insight into underlying mechanisms, and highlight examples in fishes and insects. Finally, we highlight examples of phenotypic plasticity from a human health perspective and underscore the use of mouse models as a powerful tool in understanding the genetic architecture of phenotypic plasticity.

Dynamics of epigenetic phenomena: intergenerational and intragenerational phenotype ‘washout’

“…Non-genetic modifications of phenotype result from environmental perturbations, of course, a phenomenon termed developmental plasticity (de Jong and Leyser, 2012;Kelly et al, 2012;Snell-Rood, 2012;West-Eberhard, 2003). Many of these changes result from mechanisms that have not been associated with the 'traditional' epigenetic mechanisms of DNA methylation, histone, nucleosome position, microRNAs, etc.…”

The importance of phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation in driving intraspecific variability in thermal niches of marine macrophytes

“…'Epigenetic' mechanisms such as histone modification, chromatin remodelling, small interfering RNA's, and DNA methylation can change gene expression profiles, while not altering the underlying DNA sequence (Bossdorf et al 2008, Kelly et al 2012. Not all of these are reset in the next generation and can form the basis of transgenerational plasticity.…”

Evidence of light-induced phenotypic plasticity in zoanthids: editorial comment on the feature article by Wei et al.

“…Phenotypic plasticity refers to the morphological variation of a single genotype across different environments (Kelly et al 2012). The adaptive advantage of phenotypic plasticity includes the capacity for adjusting to variable environments across multiple habitats and over time as environments experience change.…”