SICB 2012 Society-Wide Symposium: The Impacts of Developmental Plasticity on Evolutionary Innovation and Diversification; January 3-7, 2012 Mtg; Charleston, SC

SICB 2012全社会研讨会：发展可塑性对进化创新和多元化的影响；

• 批准号: 1153657
• 负责人: Matthew Wund
• 金额: $ 0.6万
• 依托单位: The College of New Jersey
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-12-01 至 2012-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1153657&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SICB; 2012; Society; Wide; Symposium

Evolutionary theory, the conceptual framework used to explain the origins of all biological diversity, has itself been evolving over the past two centuries. Since the early 20th century, biologists have been integrating Darwinian evolution and genetics in what is known as the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis: as we learn more about the genetic mechanisms that produce individual organisms, we can better understand how processes such as natural selection shape these genetic mechanisms to produce new traits, new species and new strains of diseases. While this fusion of disciplines has proven enormously fruitful, it is becoming increasingly clear that evolutionary theory is primed for another leap forward in its own evolution, through the integration of developmental and environmental biology into the existing conceptual framework. Historically, biologists considered only a single role for the environment in evolution; it is the agent of natural selection, determining which individuals are well-adapted to survive long enough to leave similarly well-adapted offspring, and which poorly-adapted individuals do not. However, developmental biology now tells us that the environment also impacts how genes are translated into traits during development, with the same genes producing different traits in different environments (developmental plasticity). Thus, the environment affects what traits develop in different individuals, and then selects among them. Theory predicts that this dual role of the environment can impact the types of traits that evolve, the way new species form, and the speed with which evolution occurs. It is time for theory to be tested by experimental evidence; thus, the society-wide symposium is designed to advance the field beyond recognizing the need for further research toward designing and implementing effective research programs. In the integrative spirit of this new line of inquiry, a diverse group of researchers has been assembled who study developmental plasticity and its consequences in a variety of organisms, using diverse approaches. This focus on translating thought to action should stimulate new avenues of research in many labs, most importantly providing new ideas to graduate students and beginning investigators, the new generation of scientists tasked with determining all of the consequences of unprecedented rates of environmental change.

进化论是用来解释所有生物多样性起源的概念框架，它本身在过去两个世纪中一直在不断发展。 自20世纪初以来，生物学家一直在将达尔文进化论和遗传学整合到所谓的现代进化综合中：随着我们对产生个体生物体的遗传机制了解得更多，我们可以更好地理解自然选择等过程如何塑造这些遗传机制，从而产生新性状、新物种和新疾病株。虽然这种学科的融合已被证明取得了巨大的成果，但越来越明显的是，通过将发育生物学和环境生物学整合到现有的概念框架中，进化论已经为自身进化的另一次飞跃做好了准备。从历史上看，生物学家只考虑环境在进化中的单一作用。它是自然选择的媒介，决定哪些个体能够很好地适应，能够生存足够长的时间，留下同样适应良好的后代，而哪些个体则不能。 然而，发育生物学现在告诉我们，环境也会影响基因在发育过程中转化为性状的方式，相同的基因在不同的环境中产生不同的性状（发育可塑性）。因此，环境会影响不同个体的特征发展，然后在它们之间进行选择。 理论预测，环境的这种双重作用会影响进化性状的类型、新物种的形成方式以及进化发生的速度。 现在是用实验证据来检验理论的时候了；因此，全社会范围的研讨会旨在推动该领域的发展，而不仅仅是认识到进一步研究的必要性，以设计和实施有效的研究计划。 本着这一新研究方向的综合精神，不同的研究人员聚集在一起，使用不同的方法研究发育可塑性及其在各种生物体中的后果。这种将思想转化为行动的关注应该会刺激许多实验室的新研究途径，最重要的是为研究生和初级研究人员提供新的想法，新一代科学家的任务是确定前所未有的环境变化速度的所有后果。