Developmental canalization can enhance species survival.
We investigate the behavior of haploid, asexual populations undergoing an evolutionary process. Each individual is endowed with a genotype, and one of several possible developmental mechanisms mapping this genotype onto a phenotype. We show that various properties of the mapping itself have important consequences for the survival of the groups. The populations which are most successful, both alone (but in a changing environment) as well as in competition against other groups (for which the mapping is different) consist of organisms where gene expression is characterized by pleiotropism, polygenic inheritance, and some amount of canalization (i.e. error damping). These same features lead to the appearance of patterns of punctuated equilibrium during evolution. Punctuated evolution was sometimes observed even in the absence of stabilizing selection; it then arose solely from the internal developmental constraints.
Kerszberg
M
M
Institut für Festkörperforschung der Kernforschungsanlage Jülich, Federal Republic of Germany.
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005796:Genes; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010641:Phenotype; D012641:Selection, Genetic