Просмотр кода страницы Phenotypic plasticity

{{short description|Trait change of an organism in response to environmental variation}}
'''Phenotypic plasticity''' refers to some of the changes in an [[organism]]'s behavior, morphology and physiology in response to a unique environment.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Price TD, Qvarnström A, Irwin DE | title = The role of phenotypic plasticity in driving genetic evolution | journal = Proceedings. Biological Sciences | volume = 270 | issue = 1523 | pages = 1433–40 | date = July 2003 | pmid = 12965006 | pmc = 1691402 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2003.2372 }}</ref><ref name="Bender">{{cite journal |last1=Bender |first1=Eric |title=Urban evolution: How species adapt to survive in cities |journal=Knowable Magazine |publisher= Annual Reviews |date=21 March 2022 |doi=10.1146/knowable-031822-1 |doi-access=free |url=https://knowablemagazine.org/article/living-world/2022/urban-evolution-species-adapt-survive-cities |access-date=31 March 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Fundamental to the way in which organisms cope with environmental variation, phenotypic plasticity encompasses all types of environmentally induced changes (e.g. [[Morphology (biology)|morphological]], [[physiology|physiological]], [[behavior|behavioural]], [[phenology|phenological]]) that may or may not be permanent throughout an individual's lifespan.<ref name='Kelly_et_al_2012'/> 

The term was originally used to describe developmental effects on morphological characters, but is now more broadly used to describe all phenotypic responses to environmental change, such as [[acclimation]] ([[acclimatization]]), as well as [[learning]].<ref name='Kelly_et_al_2012'>{{cite book |doi=10.1002/cphy.c110008 |pmid=23798305 |chapter=Phenotypic Plasticity: Molecular Mechanisms and Adaptive Significance |title=Comprehensive Physiology |volume=2 |issue=2 |year=2012 |last1=Kelly |first1=Scott A. |last2=Panhuis |first2=Tami M. |last3=Stoehr |first3=Andrew M. | name-list-style = vanc |isbn=978-0-470-65071-4 |pages=1417–39}}</ref> The special case when differences in environment induce discrete phenotypes is termed [[polyphenism]].

[[File:Phenotypic Plasticity Genotypes to Phenotypes.jpg|thumb|300px|Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of one genotype to produce more than one phenotype when exposed to different environments. Each line here represents a genotype. Horizontal lines show that the phenotype is the same in different environments; slanted lines show that there are different phenotypes in different environments, and thus indicate plasticity.]]

Generally, phenotypic plasticity is more important for immobile organisms (e.g. [[plant]]s) than mobile organisms (e.g. most [[animal]]s), as mobile organisms can often move away from unfavourable environments.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1146/annurev.es.17.110186.003315 |title=The Evolution of Phenotypic Plasticity in Plants |year=1986 |last1=Schlichting | first1 = CD | name-list-style = vanc |journal=Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=667–93|bibcode=1986AnRES..17..667S }}</ref> Nevertheless, mobile organisms also have at least some degree of plasticity in at least some aspects of the [[phenotype]].<ref name="Bender"/> 
One mobile organism with substantial phenotypic plasticity is ''Acyrthosiphon pisum'' of the [[aphid]] family, which exhibits the ability to interchange between asexual and sexual reproduction, as well as growing wings between generations when plants become too populated.<ref>{{cite journal | author = International Aphid Genomics Consortium | title = Genome sequence of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum | journal = PLOS Biology | volume = 8 | issue = 2 | article-number = e1000313 | date = February 2010 | pmid = 20186266 | pmc = 2826372 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000313 | editor1-last = Eisen | editor1-first = Jonathan A | name-list-style = vanc | doi-access = free }}</ref>
Water fleas (''[[Daphnia magna]]'') have shown both phenotypic plasticity and the ability to genetically evolve to deal with the heat stress of warmer, urban pond waters.<ref name="Bender"/>

==Examples==

===Plants===
[[File:Phenotypic plasticity.tiff|thumb|300x300px|Phenotypic plasticity of sorghum flowering time evaluated from seven environments. The identified [[photothermal time]], a performance-independent index, quantifies the relevant environmental input and enables a systematic framework for modelling, explaining, and predicting phenotypic values under natural conditions.<ref name=":1" />]]
Phenotypic plasticity in plants includes the timing of transition from vegetative to reproductive growth stage, the allocation of more resources to the [[root]]s in soils that contain low concentrations of [[plant nutrition|nutrients]], the size of the seeds an individual produces depending on the environment,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Silvertown J | title = The paradox of seed size and adaptation | journal = Trends in Ecology & Evolution | volume = 4 | issue = 1 | pages = 24–6 | date = January 1989 | pmid = 21227308 | doi = 10.1016/0169-5347(89)90013-x | bibcode = 1989TEcoE...4...24S }}</ref> and the alteration of [[leaf]] shape, size, and thickness.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sultan SE | title = Phenotypic plasticity for plant development, function and life history | journal = Trends in Plant Science | volume = 5 | issue = 12 | pages = 537–42 | date = December 2000 | pmid = 11120476 | doi = 10.1016/S1360-1385(00)01797-0 | bibcode = 2000TPS.....5..537S }}</ref> Leaves are particularly plastic, and their growth may be altered by light levels. Leaves grown in the light tend to be thicker, which maximizes photosynthesis in direct light; and have a smaller area, which cools the leaf more rapidly (due to a thinner [[boundary layer]]). Conversely, leaves grown in the shade tend to be thinner, with a greater surface area to capture more of the limited light.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2435.2006.01105.x |jstor=3806552 |title=Plasticity in leaf traits of 38 tropical tree species in response to light; relationships with light demand and adult stature |journal=Functional Ecology |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=207–16 |year=2006 | vauthors = Rozendaal DM, Hurtado VH, Poorter L |doi-access=free |bibcode=2006FuEco..20..207R }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/S0065-2504(08)60148-8 |chapter=Inherent Variation in Growth Rate Between Higher Plants: A Search for Physiological Causes and Ecological Consequences |title=Advances in Ecological Research Volume 23 |volume=23 |pages=187–261 |year=1992 |last1=Lambers |first1=Hans |last2=Poorter |first2=Hendrik | name-list-style = vanc |isbn=978-0-12-013923-1 }}</ref> [[Dandelion]] are well known for exhibiting considerable plasticity in form when growing in sunny versus shaded environments. The [[membrane transport protein|transport proteins]] present in roots also change depending on the concentration of the nutrient and the salinity of the soil.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.envexpbot.2008.09.011 |title=Differential regulation of the HAK5 genes encoding the high-affinity K+ transporters of Thellungiella halophila and Arabidopsis thaliana |year=2009 |last1=Alemán |first1=Fernando |last2=Nieves-Cordones |first2=Manuel |last3=Martínez |first3=Vicente |last4=Rubio |first4=Francisco | name-list-style = vanc |journal=Environmental and Experimental Botany |volume=65 |issue=2–3 |pages=263–9}}</ref>  Some plants, ''[[Mesembryanthemum crystallinum]]'' for example, are able to alter their photosynthetic pathways to use less water when they become water- or salt-stressed.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Gary |last1=Tallman |first2=Jianxin |last2=Zhu |first3=Bruce T. |last3=Mawson |first4=Gabriella |last4=Amodeo |first5=Zepedeh |last5=Nouhi |first6=Kathleen |last6=Levy |first7=Eduardo |last7=Zeiger | name-list-style = vanc |year=1997 |title=Induction of CAM in ''Mesembryanthemum crystallinum'' Abolishes the Stomatal Response to Blue Light and Light-Dependent Zeaxanthin Formation in Guard Cell Chloroplasts |journal=Plant and Cell Physiology |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=236–42 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.pcp.a029158 }}</ref>
[[File:Phenotypic plasticity in plants.png|left|thumb|Demonstration of phenotypic plasticity in [[Arabidopsis thaliana|''A. thaliana'']], with genetically identical wild-type individuals cultivated under different light conditions. Plants on the left were grown under 16 h light/8 h dark, while plants on the right were grown under 8 h light/16 h dark. ]]
Because of phenotypic plasticity, it is hard to explain and predict the traits when plants are grown in natural conditions unless an explicit environment index can be obtained to quantify environments. Identification of such explicit environment indices from critical growth periods being highly correlated with sorghum and rice flowering time enables such predictions.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal | vauthors = Li X, Guo T, Mu Q, Li X, Yu J | title = Genomic and environmental determinants and their interplay underlying phenotypic plasticity | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 115 | issue = 26 | pages = 6679–6684 | date = June 2018 | pmid = 29891664 | pmc = 6042117 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1718326115 | bibcode = 2018PNAS..115.6679L | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Guo T, Mu Q, Wang J, Vanous AE, Onogi A, Iwata H, Li X, Yu J | display-authors = 6 | title = Dynamic effects of interacting genes underlying rice flowering-time phenotypic plasticity and global adaptation | journal = Genome Research | volume = 30 | issue = 5 | pages = 673–683 | date = May 2020 | pmid = 32299830 | pmc = 7263186 | doi = 10.1101/gr.255703.119 }}</ref>  Additional work is being done to support the agricultural industry, which faces severe challenges in prediction of crop phenotypic expression in changing environments. Since many crops supporting the global food supply are grown in a wide variety of environments, understanding and ability to predict crop genotype by environment interaction will be essential for future food stability.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Aspinwall |first1=Michael J. |last2=Loik |first2=Michael E. |last3=Resco De Dios |first3=Victor |last4=Tjoelker |first4=Mark G. |last5=Payton |first5=Paxton R. |last6=Tissue |first6=David T. |date=August 2015 |title=Utilizing intraspecific variation in phenotypic plasticity to bolster agricultural and forest productivity under climate change: Phenotypic plasticity in agriculture and forestry |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pce.12424 |journal=Plant, Cell & Environment |language=en |volume=38 |issue=9 |pages=1752–1764 |doi=10.1111/pce.12424|pmid=25132508 |s2cid=19341266 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Phytohormones and leaf plasticity===

Leaves are very important to a plant in that they create an avenue where photosynthesis and thermoregulation can occur.  Evolutionarily, the environmental contribution to leaf shape allowed for a myriad of different types of leaves to be created.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Chitwood DH, Sinha NR | title = Evolutionary and Environmental Forces Sculpting Leaf Development | journal = Current Biology | volume = 26 | issue = 7 | pages = R297-306 | date = April 2016 | pmid = 27046820 | doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2016.02.033 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2016CBio...26.R297C | author-link2 = Neelima Sinha }}</ref> Leaf shape can be determined by both genetics and the environment.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Fritz MA, Rosa S, Sicard A | title = Mechanisms Underlying the Environmentally Induced Plasticity of Leaf Morphology | journal = Frontiers in Genetics | volume = 9 | page = 478 | date = 24 October 2018 | pmid = 30405690 | pmc = 6207588 | doi = 10.3389/fgene.2018.00478 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Environmental factors, such as light and humidity, have been shown to affect leaf morphology,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Maugarny-Calès A, Laufs P | title = Getting leaves into shape: a molecular, cellular, environmental and evolutionary view | journal = Development | volume = 145 | issue = 13 | pages = dev161646 | date = July 2018 | pmid = 29991476 | doi = 10.1242/dev.161646 | doi-access = free }}</ref> giving rise to the question of how this shape change is controlled at the molecular level. This means that different leaves could have the same gene but present a different form based on environmental factors. Plants are sessile, so this phenotypic plasticity allows the plant to take in information from its environment and respond without changing its location. 

In order to understand how leaf morphology works, the anatomy of a leaf must be understood. The main part of the leaf, the blade or lamina, consists of the epidermis, mesophyll, and vascular tissue. The epidermis contains [[Stoma|stomata]] which allows for gas exchange and controls perspiration of the plant. The mesophyll contains most of the [[chloroplast]] where [[photosynthesis]] can occur. Developing a wide blade/lamina can maximize the amount of light hitting the leaf, thereby increasing photosynthesis, however too much sunlight can damage the plant. Wide lamina can also catch wind easily which can cause stress to the plant, so finding a happy medium is imperative to the plants' fitness. The Genetic Regulatory Network is responsible for creating this phenotypic plasticity and involves a variety of genes and proteins regulating leaf morphology.
Phytohormones have been shown to play a key role in signaling throughout the plant, and changes in concentration of the phytohormones can cause a change in development.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Nakayama H, Sinha NR, Kimura S | title = How Do Plants and Phytohormones Accomplish Heterophylly, Leaf Phenotypic Plasticity, in Response to Environmental Cues | journal = Frontiers in Plant Science | volume = 8 | page = 1717 | date = 4 October 2017 | pmid = 29046687 | pmc = 5632738 | doi = 10.3389/fpls.2017.01717 | doi-access = free }}</ref> 

Studies on the aquatic plant species ''Ludwigia arcuata'' have been done to look at the role of [[abscisic acid]] (ABA), as ''L. arcuata'' is known to exhibit phenotypic plasticity and has two different types of leaves, the aerial type (leaves that touch the air) and the submerged type (leaves that are underwater).<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kuwabara A, Ikegami K, Koshiba T, Nagata T | s2cid = 22723182 | title = Effects of ethylene and abscisic acid upon heterophylly in Ludwigia arcuata (Onagraceae) | journal = Planta | volume = 217 | issue = 6 | pages = 880–7 | date = October 2003 | pmid = 12844266 | doi = 10.1007/s00425-003-1062-z | bibcode = 2003Plant.217..880K }}</ref> When adding ABA to the underwater shoots of ''L. arcuata'', the plant was able to produce aerial type leaves underwater, suggesting that increased concentrations of ABA in the shoots, likely caused by air contact or a lack of water, triggers the change from the submerged type of leaf to the aerial type. This suggests ABA's role in leaf phenotypic change and its importance in regulating stress through environmental change (such as adapting from being underwater to above water). In the same study, another phytohormone, ethylene, was shown to induce the submerged leaf phenotype unlike ABA, which induced aerial leaf phenotype. Because ethylene is a gas, it tends to stay endogenously within the plant when underwater – this growth in concentration of ethylene induces a change from aerial to submerged leaves and has also been shown to inhibit ABA production, further increasing the growth of submerged type leaves. 
These factors (temperature, water availability, and phytohormones) contribute to changes in leaf morphology throughout a plants lifetime and are vital to maximize plant fitness.

===Animals===
The developmental effects of nutrition and temperature have been demonstrated.<ref name='Weaver&Ingram1969'>{{cite journal |first1=Morris E. |last1=Weaver |first2=Douglas L. |last2=Ingram | name-list-style=vanc |year=1969 |title=Morphological Changes in Swine Associated with Environmental Temperature |journal=Ecology |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=710–3 |jstor=1936264 |doi=10.2307/1936264|bibcode=1969Ecol...50..710W }}</ref> The [[gray wolf]] (''Canis lupus'') has wide phenotypic plasticity.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ostrander EA, Wayne RK | title = The canine genome | journal = Genome Research | volume = 15 | issue = 12 | pages = 1706–16 | date = December 2005 | pmid = 16339369 | doi = 10.1101/gr.3736605 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>Miklosi, Adam. Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition. 2007 Oxford University Press, Chapter 11.3</ref> Additionally, male [[speckled wood (butterfly)|speckled wood]] butterflies have two morphs: one with three dots on its hindwing, and one with four dots on its hindwings. The development of the fourth dot is dependent on environmental conditions – more specifically, location and the time of year.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Shreeve |first=T.G. |title=The mate location behaviour of the male speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria, and the effect of phenotypic differences in hind-wing spotting |journal=Animal Behaviour |year=1987 |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=682–690 |doi=10.1016/s0003-3472(87)80104-5|s2cid=53174957 }}</ref> In [[amphibian]]s, the mutable rain frog ''[[Pristimantis mutabilis|(Pristimantis mutabilis)]]'' has remarkable phenotypic plasticity,<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Guayasamin | first1=Juan | last2=Krynak | first2=Tim | last3= Krynak | first3= Katherine | last4=Culebras | first4=Jaime | last5=Hutter | first5=Carl | name-list-style=vanc | year=2015 | title=Phenotypic plasticity raises questions for taxonomically important traits: a remarkable new Andean rainfrog (''Pristimantis'') with the ability to change skin texture | journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | volume=173 | issue=4 | pages=913–928 | doi=10.1111/zoj.12222 | doi-access=free }}</ref> as does the red-eyed tree frog ''[[Agalychnis callidryas|(Agalychnis callidryas)]]'', whose embryos exhibit phenotypic plasticity by hatching early to protect themselves in response to egg disturbance. Another example is the [[southern rockhopper penguin]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cebc.cnrs.fr/publipdf/2003/TMEPS251.pdf |title=Geographic variation in the foraging behaviour, diet and chick growth of rockhopper penguins|date=2003|website=Marine Ecology|last=Tremblay|first=Yann}}</ref> Rockhopper penguins are present at a variety of climates and locations; Amsterdam Island's subtropical waters, [[Kerguelen Archipelago]] and [[Crozet Archipelago]]'s subantarctic coastal waters.<ref name=":0" /> Due to the species plasticity they are able to express different strategies and foraging behaviors depending on the climate and environment.<ref name=":0" /> A main factor that has influenced the species' behavior is where food is located.<ref name=":0" />

====Temperature====
Plastic responses to [[temperature]] are essential among [[ectotherm|ectothermic organisms]], as all aspects of their physiology are directly dependent on their thermal environment. As such, thermal acclimation entails phenotypic adjustments that are found commonly across [[taxon|taxa]], such as changes in the [[lipid]] composition of [[cell membranes]]. Temperature change influences the fluidity of cell membranes by affecting the motion of the [[fatty acid|fatty acyl]] chains of [[glycerophospholipids]]. Because maintaining membrane fluidity is critical for cell function, ectotherms adjust the phospholipid composition of their cell membranes such that the strength of [[van der Waals force]]s within the membrane is changed, thereby maintaining fluidity across temperatures.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hazel JR | title = Thermal adaptation in biological membranes: is homeoviscous adaptation the explanation? | journal = Annual Review of Physiology | volume = 57 | pages = 19–42 | year = 1995 | pmid = 7778864 | doi = 10.1146/annurev.ph.57.030195.000315 }}</ref>

====Diet====
Phenotypic plasticity  of the [[digestive system]] allows some animals to respond to changes in dietary nutrient composition,<ref name=housesparrow>{{cite journal | vauthors = Brzek P, Kohl K, Caviedes-Vidal E, Karasov WH | title = Developmental adjustments of house sparrow (Passer domesticus) nestlings to diet composition | journal = The Journal of Experimental Biology | volume = 212 | issue = Pt 9 | pages = 1284–93 | date = May 2009 | pmid = 19376949 | doi = 10.1242/jeb.023911 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2009JExpB.212.1284B | hdl = 11336/130698 | hdl-access = free }}</ref><ref name =cortes>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cortés PA, Franco M, Sabat P, Quijano SA, Nespolo RF | title = Bioenergetics and intestinal phenotypic flexibility in the microbiotherid marsupial (Dromiciops gliroides) from the temperate forest in South America | journal = Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A, Molecular & Integrative Physiology | volume = 160 | issue = 2 | pages = 117–24 | date = October 2011 | pmid = 21627996 | doi = 10.1016/j.cbpa.2011.05.014 | doi-access = free }}</ref> diet quality,<ref name=quail>{{cite journal | vauthors = Starck JM | title = Phenotypic flexibility of the avian gizzard: rapid, reversible and repeated changes of organ size in response to changes in dietary fibre content | journal = The Journal of Experimental Biology | volume = 202 Pt 22 | issue = 22 | pages = 3171–9 | date = November 1999 | doi = 10.1242/jeb.202.22.3171 | pmid = 10539966 | bibcode = 1999JExpB.202.3171S | url = http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=10539966 | url-access = subscription }}</ref><ref name =gerbil>{{cite journal | vauthors = Liu QS, Wang DH | s2cid = 23106470 | title = Effects of diet quality on phenotypic flexibility of organ size and digestive function in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) | journal = Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology | volume = 177 | issue = 5 | pages = 509–18 | date = July 2007 | pmid = 17333208 | doi = 10.1007/s00360-007-0149-4 }}</ref> and energy requirements.<ref name =degus>{{cite journal | vauthors = Naya DE, Ebensperger LA, Sabat P, Bozinovic F | title = Digestive and metabolic flexibility allows female degus to cope with lactation costs | journal = Physiological and Biochemical Zoology | volume = 81 | issue = 2 | pages = 186–94 | year = 2008 | pmid = 18190284 | doi = 10.1086/527453 | hdl = 10533/139094 | s2cid = 22715822 | hdl-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2435.2007.01279.x |title=A flexible digestive strategy accommodates the nutritional demands of reproduction in a free-living folivore, the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) |year=2007 |last1=Krockenberger |first1=A. K. |last2=Hume |first2=I. D. | name-list-style=vanc |journal=Functional Ecology |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=748–756|doi-access= |bibcode=2007FuEco..21..748K }}</ref><ref name=vole>{{cite journal |first1=Kimberly A. |last1=Hammond |first2=Bruce A. |last2=Wunder | name-list-style=vanc |year=1991 |title=The Role of Diet Quality and Energy Need in the Nutritional Ecology of a Small Herbivore, ''Microtus ochrogaster'' |journal=Physiological Zoology |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=541–67 |jstor=30158190|doi=10.1086/physzool.64.2.30158190 |s2cid=86028872 }}</ref>

Changes in the [[nutrient]] composition of the diet (the proportion of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates) may occur during development (e.g. weaning) or with seasonal changes in the abundance of different food types. These diet changes can elicit plasticity in the [[Enzyme#Control of activity|activity]] of particular digestive enzymes on the [[brush border]] of the [[small intestine]]. For example, in the first few days after hatching, nestling [[house sparrow]]s (''Passer domesticus'') transition from an insect diet, high in protein and lipids, to a seed based diet that contains mostly carbohydrates; this diet change is accompanied by two-fold increase in the activity of the enzyme [[maltase]], which digests carbohydrates.<ref name=housesparrow/> Acclimatizing animals to high protein diets can increase the activity of [[aminopeptidase]]-N, which digests proteins.<ref name =cortes/><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sabat P, Riveros JM, López-Pinto C | title = Phenotypic flexibility in the intestinal enzymes of the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis | journal = Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A, Molecular & Integrative Physiology | volume = 140 | issue = 1 | pages = 135–9 | date = January 2005 | pmid = 15664322 | doi = 10.1016/j.cbpb.2004.11.010 | hdl = 10533/176304 | hdl-access = free }}</ref>

Poor quality diets (those that contain a large amount of non-digestible material) have lower concentrations of nutrients, so animals must process a greater total volume of poor-quality food to extract the same amount of energy as they would from a high-quality diet. Many species respond to poor quality diets by increasing their food intake, enlarging digestive organs, and increasing the capacity of the digestive tract (e.g. [[prairie vole]]s,<ref name =vole/> [[Mongolian gerbil]]s,<ref name=gerbil/> [[Japanese quail]],<ref name=quail/> [[wood duck]]s,<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Ronald D. |last1=Drobney | name-list-style=vanc |year=1984 |title=Effect of Diet on Visceral Morphology of Breeding Wood Ducks |journal=The Auk |volume=101 |issue=1 |pages=93–8 |jstor=4086226|doi=10.1093/auk/101.1.93 }}</ref> [[mallard]]s<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1139/z88-233 |title=Effects of dietary fiber and diet diversity on digestive organs of captive Mallards (''Anas platyrhynchos'') |year=1988 |last1=Kehoe |first1=F. Patrick |last2=Ankney |first2=C. Davison |last3=Alisauskas |first3=Ray T.| name-list-style=vanc |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |volume=66 |issue=7 |pages=1597–602|bibcode=1988CaJZ...66.1597K }}</ref>). Poor quality diets also result in lower concentrations of nutrients in the lumen of the intestine, which can cause a decrease in the activity of several digestive enzymes.<ref name=gerbil/>

Animals often consume more food during periods of high energy demand (e.g. lactation or cold exposure in [[endotherm]]s), this is facilitated by an increase in digestive organ size and capacity, which is similar to the phenotype produced by poor quality diets. During lactation, [[common degus]] (''Octodon degus'') increase the mass of their liver, small intestine, large intestine and cecum by 15–35%.<ref name=degus/> Increases in food intake do not cause changes in the activity of digestive enzymes because nutrient concentrations in the intestinal [[Lumen (anatomy)|lumen]] are determined by food quality and remain unaffected.<ref name=degus/> Intermittent feeding also represents a temporal increase in food intake and can  induce dramatic changes in the size of the gut; the [[Burmese python]] (''Python molurus bivittatus'') can triple the size of its small intestine just a few days after feeding.<ref name =python>{{cite journal | vauthors = Starck JM, Beese K | title = Structural flexibility of the intestine of Burmese python in response to feeding | journal = The Journal of Experimental Biology | volume = 204 | issue = Pt 2 | pages = 325–35 | date = January 2001 | doi = 10.1242/jeb.204.2.325 | pmid = 11136618 | bibcode = 2001JExpB.204..325S | url = http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=11136618 | url-access = subscription }}</ref>

[[AMY2B]] (Alpha-Amylase 2B) is a gene that codes a protein that assists with the first step in the digestion of dietary [[starch]] and [[glycogen]]. An expansion of this gene in dogs would enable early dogs to exploit a starch-rich diet as they fed on refuse from agriculture. Data indicated that the wolves and dingo had just two copies of the gene and the Siberian Husky that is associated with hunter-gatherers had just three or four copies, whereas the [[Saluki]] that is associated with the [[Fertile Crescent]] where agriculture originated had 29 copies. The results show that on average, modern dogs have a high copy number of the gene, whereas wolves and dingoes do not. The high copy number of AMY2B variants likely already existed as a standing variation in early domestic dogs, but expanded more recently with the development of large agriculturally based civilizations.<ref name=freedman2014>{{cite journal | vauthors = Freedman AH, Gronau I, Schweizer RM, Ortega-Del Vecchyo D, Han E, Silva PM, Galaverni M, Fan Z, Marx P, Lorente-Galdos B, Beale H, Ramirez O, Hormozdiari F, Alkan C, Vilà C, Squire K, Geffen E, Kusak J, Boyko AR, Parker HG, Lee C, Tadigotla V, Wilton A, Siepel A, Bustamante CD, Harkins TT, Nelson SF, Ostrander EA, Marques-Bonet T, Wayne RK, Novembre J | display-authors = 6 | title = Genome sequencing highlights the dynamic early history of dogs | journal = PLOS Genetics | volume = 10 | issue = 1 | article-number = e1004016 | date = January 2014 | pmid = 24453982 | pmc = 3894170 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004016 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

====Parasitism====
Infection with [[parasites]] can induce phenotypic plasticity as a means to compensate for the detrimental effects caused by parasitism. Commonly, [[invertebrates]] respond to [[parasitic castration]] or increased parasite [[virulence]] with [[fecundity]] compensation in order to increase their reproductive output, or [[fitness (biology)|fitness]]. For example, [[water fleas]] (''[[Daphnia magna]]''), exposed to [[microsporidia]]n parasites produce more offspring in the early stages of exposure to compensate for future loss of reproductive success.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Chadwick W, Little TJ | title = A parasite-mediated life-history shift in Daphnia magna | journal = Proceedings. Biological Sciences | volume = 272 | issue = 1562 | pages = 505–9 | date = March 2005 | pmid = 15799946 | pmc = 1578704 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2004.2959 }}</ref> A reduction in fecundity may also occur as a means of re-directing nutrients to an immune response,<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.970307.x |title=The costs of mounting an immune response are reflected in the reproductive fitness of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae |year=2002 |last1=Ahmed |first1=A. M. |last2=Baggott |first2=S. L. |last3=Maingon |first3=R. |last4=Hurd |first4=H. | name-list-style=vanc |journal=Oikos |volume=97 |issue=3 |pages=371–377|bibcode=2002Oikos..97..371A }}</ref> or to increase  [[longevity]] of the host.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hurd H | title = Host fecundity reduction: a strategy for damage limitation? | journal = Trends in Parasitology | volume = 17 | issue = 8 | pages = 363–8 | date = August 2001 | pmid = 11685895 | doi = 10.1016/S1471-4922(01)01927-4 }}</ref> This particular form of plasticity has been shown in certain cases to be mediated by host-derived molecules (e.g. schistosomin in snails ''[[Lymnaea stagnalis]]'' infected with [[Trematoda|trematodes]] ''Trichobilharzia ocellata'') that interfere with the action of reproductive hormones on their target organs.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF00935429 |title=Schistosomin, a peptide present in the haemolymph of ''Lymnaea stagnal'' is infected with ''Trichobilharzia ocellata'', is produced only in the snail's central nervous system |year=1991 |last1=Schallig |first1=H. D. F. H. |last2=Hordijk |first2=P. L. |last3=Oosthoek |first3=P. W. |last4=Jong-Brink |first4=M. |s2cid=9161067 | name-list-style=vanc |journal=Parasitology Research |volume=77 |issue=2 |pages=152–6}}</ref> Changes in reproductive effort during infection is also thought to be a less costly alternative to mounting resistance or defence against invading parasites, although it can occur in concert with a defence response.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Mark R. L. |last1=Forbes | name-list-style=vanc |year=1993 |title=Parasitism and Host Reproductive Effort |journal=Oikos |volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=444–50 |jstor=3545356 |doi=10.2307/3545356|bibcode=1993Oikos..67..444F }}</ref>

Hosts can also respond to parasitism through plasticity in physiology aside from reproduction. House mice infected with intestinal [[nematode]]s experience decreased rates of  [[glucose]] transport in the intestine. To compensate for this, mice increase the total mass of mucosal cells, cells responsible for glucose transport, in the intestine. This allows infected mice to maintain the same capacity for [[glucose uptake]] and body size as uninfected mice.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2435.2003.00751.x |title=Physiological and morphological responses to simultaneous cold exposure and parasite infection by wild-derived house mice |year=2003 |last1=Kristan |first1=Deborah M. |last2=Hammond |first2=Kimberly A. | name-list-style=vanc |journal=Functional Ecology |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=464–471 |jstor=3598983|doi-access=free |bibcode=2003FuEco..17..464K }}</ref>

Phenotypic plasticity can also be observed as changes in behaviour. In response to infection, both vertebrates and invertebrates practice [[zoopharmacognosy|self-medication]], which can be considered a form of adaptive plasticity.<ref name=Singer>{{cite journal | vauthors = Singer MS, Mace KC, Bernays EA | title = Self-medication as adaptive plasticity: increased ingestion of plant toxins by parasitized caterpillars | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 4 | issue = 3 | article-number = e4796 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19274098 | pmc = 2652102 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0004796 | bibcode = 2009PLoSO...4.4796S | editor1-last = May | editor1-first = Robin Charles | doi-access = free }}</ref> Various species of non-human primates infected with intestinal worms engage in leaf-swallowing, in which they ingest rough, whole leaves that physically dislodge parasites from the intestine. Additionally, the leaves irritate the [[gastric mucosa]], which promotes the secretion of gastric acid and increases [[Peristalsis|gut motility]], effectively flushing parasites from the system.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0651:SMBITA]2.0.CO;2 |year=2001 |volume=51 |pages=651–61 |title=Self-Medicative Behavior in the African Great Apes: An Evolutionary Perspective into the Origins of Human Traditional Medicine |last1=Huffman |first1=Michael A. | name-list-style=vanc |journal=BioScience |issue=8|doi-access=free }}</ref>  The term "self-induced adaptive plasticity" has been used to describe situations in which a behavior under selection causes changes in subordinate traits that in turn enhance the ability of the organism to perform the behavior.<ref name=Swallow_et_al_2005>{{cite journal | vauthors = Swallow JG, Rhodes JS, Garland T | title = Phenotypic and evolutionary plasticity of organ masses in response to voluntary exercise in house mice | journal = Integrative and Comparative Biology | volume = 45 | issue = 3 | pages = 426–37 | date = June 2005 | pmid = 21676788 | doi = 10.1093/icb/45.3.426 | doi-access = free }}</ref> For example, birds that engage in [[altitudinal migration]] might make "trial runs" lasting a few hours that would induce physiological changes that would improve their ability to function at high altitude.<ref name=Swallow_et_al_2005 />

Woolly bear caterpillars (''[[Grammia incorrupta]]'') infected with [[Tachinidae|tachinid flies]] increase their survival by ingesting plants containing toxins known as [[pyrrolizidine alkaloid]]s. The physiological basis for this change in behaviour is unknown; however, it is possible that, when activated, the immune system sends signals to the taste system that trigger plasticity in feeding responses during infection.<ref name=Singer />

'''Reproduction'''
[[File:Hatch rates for red-eyed tree frog tadpoles depends on predation.png|thumb|Hatch rates for red-eyed tree frog tadpoles depends on predation]]
The red-eyed tree frog, ''[[Agalychnis callidryas]]'', is an arboreal frog (hylid) that resides in the tropics of Central America.  Unlike many frogs, the red-eyed tree frog has arboreal eggs which are laid on leaves hanging over ponds or large puddles and, upon hatching, the tadpoles fall into the water below. One of the most common predators encountered by these arboreal eggs is the cat-eyed snake, ''Leptodeira septentrionalis''.  In order to escape predation, the red-eyed tree frogs have developed a form of adaptive plasticity, which can also be considered phenotypic plasticity, when it comes to hatching age; the clutch is able to hatch prematurely and survive outside of the egg five days after oviposition when faced with an immediate threat of predation.  The egg clutches take in important information from the vibrations felt around them and use it to determine whether or not they are at risk of predation. In the event of a snake attack, the clutch identifies the threat by the vibrations given off which, in turn, stimulates hatching almost instantaneously.  In a controlled experiment conducted by Karen Warkentin, hatching rate and ages of red-eyed tree frogs were observed in clutches that were and were not attacked by the cat-eyed snake.  When a clutch was attacked at six days of age, the entire clutch hatched at the same time, almost instantaneously. However, when a clutch is not presented with the threat of predation, the eggs hatch gradually over time with the first few hatching around seven days after oviposition, and the last of the clutch hatching around day ten. Karen Warkentin's study further explores the benefits and trade-offs of hatching plasticity in the red-eyed tree frog.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Warkentin KM | title = Adaptive plasticity in hatching age: a response to predation risk trade-offs | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 92 | issue = 8 | pages = 3507–10 | date = April 1995 | pmid = 11607529 | pmc = 42196 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.92.8.3507 | bibcode = 1995PNAS...92.3507W | doi-access = free }}</ref>

==Evolution==
Plasticity is usually thought to be an [[adaptation|evolutionary adaptation]] to environmental variations that is reasonably predictable and occurs within the lifespan of an individual organism, as it allows individuals to 'fit' their phenotype to different environments.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gabriel W | title = How stress selects for reversible phenotypic plasticity | journal = Journal of Evolutionary Biology | volume = 18 | issue = 4 | pages = 873–83 | date = July 2005 | pmid = 16033559 | doi = 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.00959.x | s2cid = 1513576 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Garland T, Kelly SA | title = Phenotypic plasticity and experimental evolution | journal = The Journal of Experimental Biology | volume = 209 | issue = Pt 12 | pages = 2344–61 | date = June 2006 | pmid = 16731811 | doi = 10.1242/jeb.02244 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2006JExpB.209.2344G }}</ref> If the optimal phenotype in a given environment changes with environmental conditions, then the ability of individuals to express different traits should be advantageous and thus [[Selection (biology)|selected for]]. Hence, phenotypic plasticity can evolve if Darwinian fitness is increased by changing phenotype.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gavrilets S, Scheiner S | author-link1= Sergey Gavrilets | year= 1993 | title=The genetics of phenotypic plasticity. V. Evolution of reaction norm shape |journal= Journal of Evolutionary Biology | volume= 6 | pages=31–48 | doi=10.1046/j.1420-9101.1993.6010031.x| s2cid= 85053019 | doi-access=  }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = de Jong G | title = Evolution of phenotypic plasticity: patterns of plasticity and the emergence of ecotypes | journal = The New Phytologist | volume = 166 | issue = 1 | pages = 101–17 | date = April 2005 | pmid = 15760355 | doi = 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2005.01322.x | bibcode = 2005NewPh.166..101D | hdl-access = free | hdl = 1874/10551 }}</ref> A similar logic should apply in [[Evolutionary algorithm|artificial evolution]] attempting to introduce phenotypic plasticity to artificial agents.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hunt ER | year = 2020 | title = Phenotypic Plasticity Provides a Bioinspiration Framework for Minimal Field Swarm Robotics | journal = Frontiers in Robotics and AI | volume = 7 | issue = 23| page = 23 | doi=10.3389/frobt.2020.00023| pmid = 33501192 | pmc = 7805735 | doi-access = free}}</ref> However, the fitness benefits of plasticity can be limited by the energetic costs of plastic responses (e.g. synthesizing new proteins, adjusting expression ratio of [[isozyme]] variants, maintaining sensory machinery to detect changes) as well as the predictability and reliability of environmental cues<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Dewitt TJ, Sih A, Wilson DS | title = Costs and limits of phenotypic plasticity | journal = Trends in Ecology & Evolution | volume = 13 | issue = 2 | pages = 77–81 | date = February 1998 | pmid = 21238209 | doi = 10.1016/s0169-5347(97)01274-3 | bibcode = 1998TEcoE..13...77D }}</ref> (see [[Beneficial acclimation hypothesis]]).

[[Freshwater snail]]s (''Physa virgata''), provide an example of when phenotypic plasticity can be either adaptive or [[Maladaptation|maladaptive]].  In the presence of a predator, [[Bluegill|bluegill sunfish]], these snails make their shell shape more rotund and reduce growth.  This makes them more crush-resistant and better protected from predation.  However, these snails cannot tell the difference in chemical cues between the predatory and non-predatory sunfish.  Thus, the snails respond inappropriately to non-predatory sunfish by producing an altered shell shape and reducing growth.  These changes, in the absence of a predator, make the snails susceptible to other predators and limit [[fecundity]].  Therefore, these freshwater snails produce either an adaptive or maladaptive response to the environmental cue depending on whether predatory sunfish are present or not.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=R. Brian |last1=Langerhans |first2=Thomas J. |last2=DeWit | name-list-style = vanc |year=2002 |title=Plasticity constrained: Over-generalized induction cues cause maladaptive phenotypes |journal=Evolutionary Ecology Research |volume=4 |issue=6 |pages=857–70}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Dewitt TJ, Sih A, Wilson DS | title = Costs and limits of phenotypic plasticity | journal = Trends in Ecology & Evolution | volume = 13 | issue = 2 | pages = 77–81 | date = February 1998 | pmid = 21238209 | doi = 10.1016/S0169-5347(97)01274-3 | bibcode = 1998TEcoE..13...77D }}</ref>

Given the profound ecological importance of temperature and its predictable variability over large spatial and temporal scales, adaptation to thermal variation has been hypothesized to be a key mechanism dictating the capacity of organisms for phenotypic plasticity.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1086/282487 |title=Why Mountain Passes are Higher in the Tropics |year=1967 |last1=Janzen |first1=Daniel H. | name-list-style = vanc|journal=The American Naturalist |volume=101 |issue=919 |pages=233–49|bibcode=1967ANat..101..233J |s2cid=84408071 }}</ref> The magnitude of thermal variation is thought to be directly proportional to plastic capacity, such that species that have evolved in the warm, constant [[climate]] of the [[tropics]] have a lower capacity for plasticity compared to those living in variable [[temperateness|temperate]] habitats. Termed the "climatic variability hypothesis", this idea has been supported by several studies of plastic capacity across [[latitude]] in both plants and animals.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Naya DE, Bozinovic F, Karasov WH | title = Latitudinal trends in digestive flexibility: testing the climatic variability hypothesis with data on the intestinal length of rodents | journal = The American Naturalist | volume = 172 | issue = 4 | pages = E122-34 | date = October 2008 | pmid = 18717635 | doi = 10.1086/590957 | jstor = 590957 | bibcode = 2008ANat..172E.122N | s2cid = 205987981 | hdl = 10533/241185 | hdl-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Molina-Montenegro MA, Naya DE | title = Latitudinal patterns in phenotypic plasticity and fitness-related traits: assessing the climatic variability hypothesis (CVH) with an invasive plant species | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 7 | issue = 10 | article-number = e47620 | year = 2012 | pmid = 23110083 | pmc = 3478289 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0047620 | bibcode = 2012PLoSO...747620M | editor1-last = Seebacher | editor1-first = Frank | doi-access = free }}</ref> However, recent studies of ''[[Drosophila]]'' species have failed to detect a clear pattern of plasticity over latitudinal gradients, suggesting this hypothesis may not hold true across all taxa or for all traits.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Overgaard J, Kristensen TN, Mitchell KA, Hoffmann AA | title = Thermal tolerance in widespread and tropical Drosophila species: does phenotypic plasticity increase with latitude? | journal = The American Naturalist | volume = 178 | pages = S80-96 | date = October 2011 | issue = Suppl 1 | pmid = 21956094 | doi = 10.1086/661780 | bibcode = 2011ANat..178S..80O | s2cid = 22000482 }}</ref> Some researchers propose that direct measures of environmental variability, using factors such as precipitation, are better predictors of phenotypic plasticity than latitude alone.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Forrest E. |last1=Clements | name-list-style = vanc |year=1928 |title=The End of a World by Claude Anet |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=30 |issue=1 |page=125 |jstor=660970 |doi=10.1525/aa.1928.30.1.02a00120|doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[Artificial selection|Selection experiments]] and [[experimental evolution]] approaches have shown that plasticity is a trait that can evolve when under direct selection and also as a correlated response to selection on the average values of particular traits.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Maldonado K, Bozinovic F, Rojas JM, Sabat P | title = Within-species digestive tract flexibility in rufous-collared sparrows and the climatic variability hypothesis | journal = Physiological and Biochemical Zoology | volume = 84 | issue = 4 | pages = 377–84 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21743251 | doi = 10.1086/660970 | hdl = 10533/133358 | s2cid = 1484282 | hdl-access = free }}</ref>

==Temporal plasticity==
{{Excerpt|Temporal plasticity}}

==Plasticity and climate change==
Unprecedented rates of [[climate change]] are predicted to occur over the next 100 years as a result of human activity.<ref>IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pp.

https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/</ref> Phenotypic plasticity is a key mechanism with which organisms can cope with a changing climate, as it allows individuals to respond to change within their lifetime.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Williams SE, Shoo LP, Isaac JL, Hoffmann AA, Langham G | title = Towards an integrated framework for assessing the vulnerability of species to climate change | journal = PLOS Biology | volume = 6 | issue = 12 | pages = 2621–6 | date = December 2008 | pmid = 19108608 | pmc = 2605927 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pbio.0060325 | editor1-last = Moritz | editor1-first = Craig | doi-access = free }}</ref> This is thought to be particularly important for species with long generation times, as evolutionary responses via [[natural selection]] may not produce change fast enough to mitigate the effects of a warmer climate.

The [[American red squirrel|North American red squirrel]] (''Tamiasciurus hudsonicus'') has experienced an increase in average temperature over this last decade of almost 2&nbsp;°C.  This increase in temperature has caused an increase in abundance of white spruce cones, the main food source for winter and spring reproduction. In response, the mean lifetime [[parturition]] date of this species has advanced by 18 days.  Food abundance showed a significant effect on the breeding date with individual females, indicating a high amount of phenotypic plasticity in this trait.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Réale D, McAdam AG, Boutin S, Berteaux D | title = Genetic and plastic responses of a northern mammal to climate change | journal = Proceedings. Biological Sciences | volume = 270 | issue = 1515 | pages = 591–6 | date = March 2003 | pmid = 12769458 | pmc = 1691280 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2002.2224 | jstor = 3558706 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Acclimation]]
* [[Allometric engineering]]
* [[Baldwin effect]]
* [[Beneficial acclimation hypothesis]]
* [[Developmental biology]]
* [[Evolutionary physiology]]
* [[Genetic assimilation]]
* [[Rapoport's rule]]
*[[Developmental plasticity]]

== References ==
{{reflist|32em}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book | vauthors = West-Eberhard MJ | author-link = Mary Jane West-Eberhard | year=2003 | title=Developmental Plasticity and Evolution | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=978-0-19-512234-3}}
* {{cite book | vauthors = Piersma T, Van Gils JA | author-link1 = Theunis Piersma | year = 2011 | title = The Flexible Phenotype: A Body-Centred Integration of Ecology, Physiology, and Behaviour | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-164015-5 }} See also: {{cite journal | last1 = Garland | first1 =Theodore | s2cid =53169229 | name-list-style = vanc | title = The Flexible Phenotype: A Body-Centred Integration of Ecology, Physiology, and Behaviour | year = 2011 | journal = Animal Behaviour | volume = 82 | issue = 3 | pages = 609–10 | doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.06.012 }}
{{refend}}
* {{cite book | vauthors = Nicoglou A | author-link = Antonine Nicoglou| year=2024 | title=Plasticity in the Life Sciences | publisher=The University of Chicago Press | isbn=978-0-22-683716-1}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Phenotypic plasticity}}
{{Scholia|topic}}
*Special issue of the ''Journal of Experimental Biology'' concerning [http://jeb.biologists.org/content/vol209/issue12/ phenotypic plasticity]
*''Developmental Plasticity and Evolution'' - [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/BookReviewTypeDetail/assetid/29782 review of the book] from ''American Scientist''

{{genarch}}
{{Evolution}}

[[Category:Evolutionary biology]]
[[Category:Extended evolutionary synthesis]]
[[Category:Genetics]]