Spirov Alexander V, Holloway David M
Computer Science and CEWIT, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York, USA; and The Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology & Biochemistry, St.-Petersburg, Russia.
Procedia Comput Sci. 2013;18. doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2013.05.303.
A central question in evolutionary biology concerns the transition between discrete numbers of units (e.g. vertebrate digits, arthropod segments). How do particular numbers of units, robust and characteristic for one species, evolve into another number for another species? Intermediate phases with a diversity of forms have long been theorized, but these leave little fossil or genomic data. We use evolutionary computations (EC) of a gene regulatory network (GRN) model to investigate how embryonic development is altered to create new forms. The trajectories are epochal and non-smooth, in accord with both the observed stability of species and the evolvability between forms.
进化生物学中的一个核心问题涉及离散数量的单位（如脊椎动物的指/趾、节肢动物的体节）之间的转变。特定数量的单位，对于一个物种来说是稳固且具有特征性的，是如何演变成另一个物种的另一种数量的呢？长期以来，人们一直在理论上推测存在具有多种形式的中间阶段，但这些阶段几乎没有留下化石或基因组数据。我们使用基因调控网络（GRN）模型的进化计算（EC）来研究胚胎发育是如何被改变以产生新形式的。这些轨迹是阶段性的且不平稳的，这与观察到的物种稳定性以及不同形式之间的可进化性相一致。
