A striking example of developmental bias in an evolutionary process: The "domestication syndrome" - PubMed (original) (raw)

. 2020 Jan;22(1-2):143-153.

doi: 10.1111/ede.12319. Epub 2019 Sep 23.

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A striking example of developmental bias in an evolutionary process: The "domestication syndrome"

Adam S Wilkins. Evol Dev. 2020 Jan.

Abstract

The question of whether "developmental bias" can influence evolution is still controversial, despite much circumstantial evidence and a good theoretical argument. Here, I will argue that the domestication of mammalian species, which took place independently more than two dozen times, provides a particularly convincing example of developmental bias in evolution. The singular finding that underlies this claim is the repeated occurrence in domesticated mammals of a set of distinctive traits, none of which were deliberately selected. This phenomenon has been termed "the domestication syndrome". In this article, I will: (a) describe the properties of the domestication syndrome; (b) show how it can be explained in terms of the operation of a specific genetic regulatory network, that which governs neural crest cell development; and (c) discuss Dmitry Belyaev's idea of "destabilizing selection," which holds that selecting for a new behavior often entails neuroendocrine alterations that alter many aspects of development. Finally, I will argue for the potential general significance of such destabilizing selection, in combination with developmental bias, in animal evolution.

Keywords: destabilizing selection; developmental bias; domestication syndrome.

© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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