Developmental nonlinearity drives phenotypic robustness

Rebecca M. Green, Jennifer L. Fish, Nathan M. Young, Francis J. Smith, Benjamin Roberts, Katie Dolan, Irene Choi, Courtney L. Leach, Paul Gordon, James M. Cheverud, Charles C. Roseman, Trevor J. Williams, Ralph S. Marcucio () and Benedikt Hallgrímsson ()
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Rebecca M. Green: Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Jennifer L. Fish: University of Massachusetts Lowell
Nathan M. Young: School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco
Francis J. Smith: School of Dental Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Benjamin Roberts: University of Massachusetts Lowell
Katie Dolan: University of Massachusetts Lowell
Irene Choi: School of Dental Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Courtney L. Leach: Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Paul Gordon: University of Calgary
James M. Cheverud: Loyola University Chicago
Charles C. Roseman: University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
Trevor J. Williams: School of Dental Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Ralph S. Marcucio: School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco
Benedikt Hallgrímsson: Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Robustness to perturbation is a fundamental feature of complex organisms. Mutations are the raw material for evolution, yet robustness to their effects is required for species survival. The mechanisms that produce robustness are poorly understood. Nonlinearities are a ubiquitous feature of development that may link variation in development to phenotypic robustness. Here, we manipulate the gene dosage of a signaling molecule, Fgf8, a critical regulator of vertebrate development. We demonstrate that variation in Fgf8 expression has a nonlinear relationship to phenotypic variation, predicting levels of robustness among genotypes. Differences in robustness are not due to gene expression variance or dysregulation, but emerge from the nonlinearity of the genotype–phenotype curve. In this instance, embedded features of development explain robustness differences. How such features vary in natural populations and relate to genetic variation are key questions for unraveling the origin and evolvability of this feature of organismal development.

Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-017-02037-7

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02037-7

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