The pleiotropic structure of the genotype-phenotype map: the evolvability of complex organisms - PubMed (original) (raw)

Review

doi: 10.1038/nrg2949.

Affiliations

Review

The pleiotropic structure of the genotype-phenotype map: the evolvability of complex organisms

Günter P Wagner et al. Nat Rev Genet. 2011 Mar.

Abstract

It was first noticed 100 years ago that mutations tend to affect more than one phenotypic characteristic, a phenomenon that was called 'pleiotropy'. Because pleiotropy was found so frequently, the notion arose that pleiotropy is 'universal'. However, quantitative estimates of pleiotropy have not been available until recently. These estimates show that pleiotropy is highly restricted and are more in line with the notion of variational modularity than with universal pleiotropy. This finding has major implications for the evolvability of complex organisms and the mapping of disease-causing mutations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Evolution. 2000 Oct;54(5):1467-79 - PubMed
    1. Genome Res. 2009 May;19(5):723-33 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 2008 Mar 27;452(7186):470-2 - PubMed
    1. Genetics. 1990 Mar;124(3):773-82 - PubMed
    1. J Evol Biol. 2008 Sep;21(5):1201-19 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources