Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden.
Evol Dev. 2020 Jan;22(1-2):88-102. doi: 10.1111/ede.12312. Epub 2019 Sep 2.
The role of developmental bias and plasticity in evolution is a central research interest in evolutionary biology. Studies of these concepts and related processes are usually conducted on extant systems and have seen limited investigation in the fossil record. Here, I identify plasticity-led evolution (PLE) as a form of developmental bias accessible through scrutiny of paleontological material. I summarize the process of PLE and describe it in terms of the environmentally mediated accumulation and release of cryptic genetic variation. Given this structure, I then predict its manifestation in the fossil record, discuss its similarity to quantum evolution and punctuated equilibrium, and argue that these describe macroevolutionary patterns concordant with PLE. Finally, I suggest methods and directions towards providing evidence of PLE in the fossil record and conclude that such endeavors are likely to be highly rewarding.
发育偏向和可塑性在进化中的作用是进化生物学的一个核心研究兴趣。这些概念和相关过程的研究通常在现存系统上进行，在化石记录中受到的关注有限。在这里，我将可塑性主导的进化（PLE）确定为一种可通过仔细研究古生物学材料获得的发育偏向形式。我总结了 PLE 的过程，并根据环境介导的隐性遗传变异的积累和释放来描述它。鉴于这种结构，我随后预测了它在化石记录中的表现，讨论了它与量子进化和间断平衡的相似之处，并认为这些描述与 PLE 一致的宏观进化模式。最后，我提出了在化石记录中提供 PLE 证据的方法和方向，并得出结论，这些努力很可能会得到丰厚的回报。
