Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
1996-10-24
pubmed:abstractText
By "phenotypic plasticity" we refer to the capacity of a genotype to exhibit different phenotypes, whether in the same or in different environments. We have previously demonstrated that phenotypic plasticity can improve the degree of adaptation achieved via natural selection (Behera & Nanjundiah, 1995). That result was obtained from a genetic algorithm model of haploid genotypes (idealized as one-dimensional strings of genes) evolving in a fixed environment. Here, the dynamics of evolution is examined under conditions of a cyclically varying environment. We find that the rate of evolution, as well as the extent of adaptation (as measured by mean population fitness) is lowered because of environmental cycling. The decrease in adaptation caused by a varying environment can, however, be partly or wholly compensated by an increase in the degree of plasticity that a genotype is capable of. Also, the reduction of population fitness caused by a variable environment can be partially offset by decreasing the total number of genetic loci. We conjecture that an increase in genome size may have been among the factors responsible for the evolution of phenotypic plasticity.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jan
pubmed:issn
0022-5193
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
21
pubmed:volume
178
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
135-44
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1996
pubmed:articleTitle
The consequences of phenotypic plasticity in cyclically varying environments: a genetic algorithm study.
pubmed:affiliation
Developmental Biology and Genetics Laboratory, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't