Developmental origins of evolutionary novelty
Evolutionary change occurs through changes in the processes that generate phenotypes – development writ large. We study the developmental basis of adaptive evolution, and the relationship between development and evolvability. Despite that a vast number of alternative solutions could be equally fit, particular trait combinations tend to evolve again and again. Such instances of parallel or convergent evolution lend themselves particularly well to establish how developmental processes bias evolutionary outcomes.
Our most recent project, funded by an ERC Starting Grant, investigates the developmental basis of parallel evolution in Mediterranean wall lizards. Several Podarcis species have evolved a striking combination of exaggerated morphologies, coloration and behaviours. We unravel the evolution of this syndrome by combining developmental cell biology and genomics to ecological and behavioural assays.
Theoretical modelling is an important tool to further our understanding of how properties of developmental systems affect evolutionary dynamics. In the simplest case, development can be represented by a gene-regulatory network, but models can also involve cell-cell interactions in two or three dimensions. Such models can be used to make predictions about how development influences evolution, and to study how evolution by natural selection can make organisms better at evolving.
If you want to know more:
Feiner N., Jackson I.S.C., Stanley E.L., Uller T. 2021. Evolution of the locomotor skeleton in Anolis lizards reflects the interplay between ecological opportunity and phylogenetic inertia. Nature Communications 12:1525
Feiner, N., Jackson, I.S.C., Munch, K.L., Radersma, R. & Uller, T. 2020. Plasticity and evolutionary convergence in the locomotor skeleton of Greater Antillean Anolis lizards. eLife 9:e57468
Feiner N., Brun-Usan M., Uller T. 2021. Evolvability and evolutionary rescue. Evolution & Development e12374
Brun-Usan M., Rago A., Thies C., Uller T., Watson R.A. 2020. Developmental models reveal the role of phenotypic plasticity in explaining genetic evolvability. bioRxiv 2020.2006.2029.179226