Development and Selective Grain Make Plasticity ‘Take the Lead’ in Adaptive Evolution

Development and Selective Grain Make Plasticity ‘Take the Lead’ in Adaptive Evolution | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research article Development and Selective Grain Make Plasticity ‘Take the Lead’ in Adaptive Evolution MIGUEL BRUN USAN, Alfredo Rago, Christoph Thies, Tobias Uller, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-495293/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background : Biological evolution exhibits an extraordinary capability to adapt organisms to their environments. The explanation for this often takes for granted that random genetic variation produces at least some beneficial phenotypic variation in which natural selection can act. Such genetic evolvability could itself be a product of evolution, but it is widely acknowledged that the immediate selective gains of evolvability are small on short timescales . So how do biological systems come to exhibit such extraordinary capacity to evolve ? One suggestion is that adaptive phenotypic plasticity makes genetic evolution find adaptations faster. However, the need to explain the origin of adaptive plasticity puts genetic evolution back in the driving seat, and genetic evolvability remains unexplained. Results : To better understand the interaction between plasticity and genetic evolvability , we simulate the evolution of phenotypes produced by gene-regulation network-based models of development. First , we show that the phenotypic variation resulting from genetic and environmental perturbation are highly concordant. This is because phenotypic variation, regardless of its cause, occurs within the relatively specific space of possibilities allowed by development. Second, we show that selection for genetic evolvability results in the evolution of adaptive plasticity and vice versa . This linkage is essentially symmetric but, unlike genetic evolvability, the selective gains of plasticity are often substantial on short, including within-lifetime, timescales. Accordingly, we show that selection for phenotypic plasticity can be effective in promoting the evolution of high genetic evolvability. Conclusions : Without overlooking the fact that adaptive plasticity is itself a product of genetic evolution, we show how past selection for plasticity can exercise a disproportionate effect on genetic evolvability and, in turn, influence the course of adaptive evolution. Evolutionary Biology Evolutionary Developmental Biology Adaptation Phenotypic plasticity Genotype-phenotype-map Plasticity-led evolution Parental effects Mechanistic developmental models Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Full Text Supplementary Files BrunUsanetal.AdditionalFile.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Major revision 22 Aug, 2021 Review # 2 received at journal 10 Aug, 2021 Review # 1 received at journal 05 Jul, 2021 Reviewer # 2 agreed at journal 04 Jul, 2021 Reviewer # 1 agreed at journal 26 Jun, 2021 Reviewers invited by journal 30 May, 2021 Editor assigned by journal 10 May, 2021 Submission checks completed at journal 10 May, 2021 Editor invited by journal 10 May, 2021 First submitted to journal 29 Apr, 2021 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-495293","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":28620122,"identity":"3b4e013f-21e3-46d6-8ba5-9ba4e647fd7e","order_by":0,"name":"MIGUEL BRUN USAN","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAzklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHhiD+QCQkJAhRQtbAkgLD26VmFp4DFC4OIFuA++xz7w7Dtvzz+75/OpGjQUPA/vhoxvwaTE7wJc8m/fM4cQZd85us845BnQYT1raDfxaeIyZedsOJzDcyN1mnMMG1CLBY0aUFnv5GznPjHP+kaCFccONHObHuW3EaDnMl8w4ty09ceONNDPm3D4JHjaCfjnee5jhbZu1vdyN5Mefc77VyfGzHz6GVwsDM4LJJgEm8SpH1/2BFNWjYBSMglEwcgAA3NJDMxvoMNkAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8846-7494","institution":"Lund University: Lunds Universitet","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"MIGUEL","middleName":"BRUN","lastName":"USAN","suffix":""},{"id":28620123,"identity":"35e34c7d-14cc-43ff-98c5-7bd61231b4d0","order_by":1,"name":"Alfredo Rago","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Lund University: Lunds Universitet","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alfredo","middleName":"","lastName":"Rago","suffix":""},{"id":28620124,"identity":"e2e3dd0e-2bba-48bd-b4e3-f878fedb9e47","order_by":2,"name":"Christoph Thies","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Southampton","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Christoph","middleName":"","lastName":"Thies","suffix":""},{"id":28620125,"identity":"4f3d971f-6d8a-48ea-94ef-0f2fde4b408c","order_by":3,"name":"Tobias Uller","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Lund University: Lunds Universitet","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tobias","middleName":"","lastName":"Uller","suffix":""},{"id":28620126,"identity":"e82f26e5-551e-40fa-a598-385d1193c8a6","order_by":4,"name":"Richard A. 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Evolution","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Adaptation, Phenotypic plasticity, Genotype-phenotype-map, Plasticity-led evolution, Parental effects, Mechanistic developmental models","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-495293/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-495293/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground\u003c/strong\u003e: Biological evolution exhibits an extraordinary capability to adapt organisms to their environments. The explanation for this often takes for granted that random genetic variation produces at least some beneficial phenotypic variation in which natural selection can act. Such genetic evolvability could itself be a product of evolution, but it is widely acknowledged that the immediate selective gains of evolvability are small on short timescales . So how do biological systems come to exhibit such extraordinary capacity to evolve ? One suggestion is that adaptive phenotypic plasticity makes genetic evolution find adaptations faster. However, the need to explain the origin of adaptive plasticity puts genetic evolution back in the driving seat, and genetic evolvability remains unexplained. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e: To better understand the interaction between plasticity and genetic evolvability , we simulate the evolution of phenotypes produced by gene-regulation network-based models of development. 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Accordingly, we show that selection for phenotypic plasticity can be effective in promoting the evolution of high genetic evolvability. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions\u003c/strong\u003e: Without overlooking the fact that adaptive plasticity is itself a product of genetic evolution, we show how past selection for plasticity can exercise a disproportionate effect on genetic evolvability and, in turn, influence the course of adaptive evolution.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Development and Selective Grain Make Plasticity ‘Take the Lead’ in Adaptive Evolution","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2021-05-24 14:24:21","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-495293/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Major revision","date":"2021-08-23T00:00:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2021-08-11T00:00:00+00:00","index":2,"fulltext":"Recommendation: Reviewer's comments unavailable due to the journal's policy.\n"},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2021-07-06T00:00:00+00:00","index":1,"fulltext":"Recommendation: Reviewer's comments unavailable due to the journal's policy.\n"},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2021-07-05T00:00:00+00:00","index":2,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2021-06-27T00:00:00+00:00","index":1,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2021-05-31T00:00:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2021-05-11T00:00:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2021-05-10T23:00:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2021-05-10T23:00:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"","date":"2021-04-30T00:00:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-ecology-and-evolution","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"evob","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Ecology and Evolution](http://bmcevolbiol.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/evob/default.aspx","title":"BMC Ecology and Evolution","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"cc5a33cf-ff59-4f6a-acd0-7d9c13fd0736","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 24th, 2021","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"in-revision","subjectAreas":[{"id":4533946,"name":"Evolutionary Biology"},{"id":4533947,"name":"Evolutionary Developmental Biology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2021-08-29T13:53:58+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2021-05-24 14:24:21","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-495293","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-495293","identity":"rs-495293","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"cBFmMYwuxLRRLfASyISRj","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}