Developmental Nonlinearity Drives Phenotypic Robustness

Authors

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

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-6-2017

Publication Title

Nature Communications

Volume

8

Issue

1970

Pages

1-12

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.

Comments

Author Posting. © The Authors 2017. This article is posted here by permission of James M. Cheverud for personal use, not for redistribution. The article was published in Nature Communications, vol. 8, no. 1970, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02037-7

Recommended Citation

Green, Rebecca M.; Fish, Jennifer L.; Young, Nathan M.; Smith, Francis J.; Roberts, Benjamin; Dolan, Katie; Choi, Irene; Leach, Courtney L.; Gordon, Paul; Cheverud, James M.; Roseman, Charles C.; Williams, Trevor J.; Marcucio, Ralph S.; and Hallgrímsson, Benedikt. Developmental Nonlinearity Drives Phenotypic Robustness. Nature Communications, 8, 1970: 1-12, 2017. Retrieved from Loyola eCommons, Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02037-7

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright Statement

© The Authors 2017