Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794.
Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, 10024.
Evolution. 2022 Dec;76(12):2975-2985. doi: 10.1111/evo.14600. Epub 2022 Aug 31.
A central challenge for biology is to reveal how different levels of biological variation interact and shape diversity. However, recent experimental studies have indicated that prevailing models of evolution cannot readily explain the link between micro- and macroevolution at deep timescales. Here, we suggest that this paradox could be the result of a common mechanism driving a correlated pattern of evolution. We examine the proportionality between genetic variance and patterns of trait evolution in a system whose developmental processes are well understood to gain insight into how such alignment between morphological divergence and genetic variation might be maintained over macroevolutionary time. Primate molars present a model system by which to link developmental processes to evolutionary dynamics because of the biased pattern of variation that results from the developmental architecture regulating their formation. We consider how this biased variation is expressed at the population level, and how it manifests through evolution across primates. There is a strong correspondence between the macroevolutionary rates of primate molar divergence and their genetic variation. This suggests a model of evolution in which selection is closely aligned with the direction of genetic variance, phenotypic variance, and the underlying developmental architecture of anatomical traits.
生物学面临的一个核心挑战是揭示不同层次的生物变异如何相互作用并塑造多样性。然而，最近的实验研究表明，流行的进化模型不能很好地解释微观进化和宏观进化之间在长时间尺度上的联系。在这里，我们认为这种悖论可能是驱动进化相关模式的共同机制的结果。我们通过一个发育过程得到很好理解的系统，检查遗传方差和特征进化模式之间的比例关系，以深入了解形态分歧和遗传变异之间的这种一致性如何在宏观进化时间内得以维持。灵长类动物的磨牙是一个将发育过程与进化动态联系起来的模型系统，因为调节其形成的发育结构导致了变异的偏倚模式。我们考虑这种偏倚变异如何在种群水平上表达，以及它如何在灵长类动物中通过进化表现出来。灵长类动物磨牙的宏观进化分歧率与其遗传变异之间存在很强的对应关系。这表明了一种进化模式，其中选择与遗传方差、表型方差以及解剖特征的潜在发育结构的方向密切一致。
