Müller Gerd B, Newman Stuart A
Department of Theoretical Biology, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna.
J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2005 Nov 15;304(6):487-503. doi: 10.1002/jez.b.21081.
This article introduces a special issue on evolutionary innovation and morphological novelty, two interrelated themes that have received a remarkable increase of attention over the past few years. We begin with a discussion of the question of whether innovation and novelty represent distinct evolutionary problems that require a distinct conceptualization. We argue that the mechanisms of innovation and their phenotypic results--novelty--can only be properly addressed if they are distinguished from the standard evolutionary themes of variation and adaptation, and we present arguments for making such a distinction. We propose that origination, the first formation of biological structures, is another distinct problem of morphological evolution, and that together with innovation and novelty it constitutes a conceptual complex we call the innovation triad. We define a problem agenda of the triad, which separates the analysis of the initiating conditions from the mechanistic realization of innovation, and we discuss the theoretical problems that arise from treating innovation as distinct from variation. Further, we categorize the empirical approaches that address themes of the innovation triad in recognizing four major strands of research: the morphology and systematics program, the gene regulation program, the epigenetic program, and the theoretical biology program. We provide examples of each program, giving priority to contributions in the present issue. In conclusion, we observe that the innovation triad is one of the defining topics of EvoDevo research and may represent its most pertinent contribution to evolutionary theory. We point out that an inclusion of developmental systems properties into evolutionary theory represents a shift of explanatory emphasis from the external factors of natural selection to the internal dynamics of developmental systems, complementing adaptation with emergence, and contingency with inherency.
本文介绍了一个关于进化创新与形态新奇性的特刊，这两个相互关联的主题在过去几年中受到了显著更多的关注。我们首先讨论创新和新奇性是否代表不同的进化问题，以及是否需要不同的概念化。我们认为，只有将创新机制及其表型结果——新奇性——与变异和适应等标准进化主题区分开来，才能恰当地探讨它们，并且我们提出了进行这种区分的论据。我们提出，生物结构的首次形成即起源，是形态进化的另一个独特问题，它与创新和新奇性共同构成了一个我们称为创新三元组的概念复合体。我们定义了这个三元组的问题议程，将起始条件的分析与创新的机制实现区分开来，并讨论了将创新与变异区分对待所产生的理论问题。此外，我们将解决创新三元组主题的实证方法归类为认识到四大研究方向：形态学与系统学方向、基因调控方向、表观遗传学方向和理论生物学方向。我们为每个方向提供了示例，并优先选取了本期特刊中的论文。总之，我们观察到创新三元组是进化发育生物学（EvoDevo）研究的核心主题之一，可能代表了它对进化理论最相关的贡献。我们指出，将发育系统特性纳入进化理论代表了一种解释重点的转变，从自然选择的外部因素转向发育系统的内部动态，用涌现补充适应，用遗传性补充偶然性。
