Pigliucci Massimo
Department of Ecology and Evolution, SUNY Stony Brook, 650 Life Science Bldg, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
Trends Ecol Evol. 2005 Sep;20(9):481-6. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2005.06.001. Epub 2005 Jun 13.
The study of phenotypic plasticity has progressed significantly over the past few decades. We have moved from variation for plasticity being considered as a nuisance in evolutionary studies to it being the primary target of investigations that use an array of methods, including quantitative and molecular genetics, as well as of several approaches that model the evolution of plastic responses. Here, I consider some of the major aspects of research on phenotypic plasticity, assessing where progress has been made and where additional effort is required. I suggest that some areas of research, such the study of the quantitative genetic underpinning of plasticity, have been either settled in broad outline or superseded by new approaches and questions. Other issues, such as the costs of plasticity are currently at the forefront of research in this field, and are likely to be areas of major future development.
在过去几十年里，表型可塑性的研究取得了显著进展。我们已经从将可塑性变异在进化研究中视为一种麻烦，转变为将其作为研究的主要目标，这些研究使用了一系列方法，包括数量遗传学和分子遗传学，以及几种对可塑性反应的进化进行建模的方法。在这里，我考虑表型可塑性研究的一些主要方面，评估已经取得进展的地方以及还需要付出额外努力的地方。我认为，一些研究领域，如可塑性的数量遗传基础研究，要么在大致轮廓上已经确定，要么已被新方法和新问题所取代。其他问题，如可塑性的代价，目前处于该领域研究的前沿，并且很可能是未来主要的发展领域。
