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GENE-CENTRICITY. “Missing pieces include how physical development influences the generation of variation (developmental bias); how the environment directly shapes organisms’ traits (plasticity); how organisms modify environments (niche construction); and how organisms transmit more than genes across generations (extra-genetic inheritance). For Standard Evolutionary Theory, these phenomena are just outcomes of evolution. For the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis, they are also causes.” http://www.nature.com/news/does-evolutionary-theory-need-a-rethink-1.16080 View in LinkedIn

CORE OBJECTION. “In our view, this ‘gene-centric’ focus fails to capture the full gamut of processes that direct evolution.” http://www.nature.com/news/does-evolutionary-theory-need-a-rethink-1.16080 View in LinkedIn

STANDARD EVOLUTIONARY THEORY (SET). "New variation arises through random genetic mutation; inheritance occurs through DNA; and natural selection is the sole cause of adaptation, the process by which organisms become well-suited to their environments. In this view, the complexity of biological development — the changes that occur as an organism grows and ages — are of secondary, even minor, importance.” http://www.nature.com/news/does-evolutionary-theory-need-a-rethink-1.16080 View in LinkedIn

CHANGE HURTS. “Does evolutionary theory need a rethink? Researchers are divided over what processes should be considered fundamental." "YES, URGENTLY — Kevin Laland and colleagues." "NO, ALL IS WELL — Gregory A. Wray, Hopi E. Hoekstra and colleagues.” https://lnkd.in/gninbRv View in LinkedIn

NOT ONLY RANDOM VARIATION. “Differences in the diets and conditions of fish living at the bottom and in open water have induced distinct body forms, which seem to be evolving reproductive isolation, a stage in forming new species. The number of species in a lineage does not depend solely on how random genetic variation is winnowed through different environmental sieves. It also hangs on developmental properties that contribute to the lineage’s ‘evolvability’.” https://lnkd.in/gninbRv View in LinkedIn

NICHE ADAPTATION CAUSES SPECIATION. “Studies of fish, birds, amphibians and insects suggest that adaptations that were, initially, environmentally induced may promote colonization of new environments and facilitate speciation. Some of the best-studied examples of this are in fishes, such as sticklebacks and Arctic char.” https://lnkd.in/gninbRv View in LinkedIn

PLASTICITY FIRST. “The key finding here is that plasticity not only allows organisms to cope in new environmental conditions but to generate traits that are well-suited to them. If selection preserves genetic variants that respond effectively when conditions change, then adaptation largely occurs by accumulation of genetic variations that stabilize a trait after its first appearance. In other words, often it is the trait that comes first; genes that cement it follow, sometimes several generations late.” https://lnkd.in/gninbRv View in LinkedIn

IMPORTANCE OF PLASTICITY. “Standard Evolutionary Theory views this plasticity as merely fine-tuning, or even noise. The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis sees it as a plausible first step in adaptive evolution.” http://www.nature.com/news/does-evolutionary-theory-need-a-rethink-1.16080 View in LinkedIn

NICHE GUIDED SELECTION. “Another kind of developmental bias occurs when individuals respond to their environment by changing their form — a phenomenon called plasticity. For instance, leaf shape changes with soil water and chemistry.” http://www.nature.com/news/does-evolutionary-theory-need-a-rethink-1.16080 View in LinkedIn

DEVELOPMENTAL GUIDED SELECTION. “A more succinct hypothesis is that developmental bias and natural selection work together. Rather than selection being free to traverse across any physical possibility, it is guided along specific routes opened up by the processes of development.” http://www.nature.com/news/does-evolutionary-theory-need-a-rethink-1.16080 View in LinkedIn