Evolution of evolutionary physiology

In 19th century and at the beginning 20th century, reports appeared in the field of comparative and ontogenetic physiology and the value of these methods for understanding of evolution of functions. The term "evolutionary physiology" was suggested by A. N. Severtsov in 1914. In the beginning of 30s, in the USSR, laboratories for researches in problems of evolutionary physiology were created, the results of these researches having been published. In 1956 in Leningrad, the Institute of Evolutionary Physiology was founded by L. A. Orbeli. He formulates the goals and methods of evolutionary physiology. In the following half a century, the evolutionary physiology was actively developed. The evolutionary physiology solves problems of evolution of function of functions evolution, often involving methods of adjacent sciences, including biochemistry, morphology, molecular biology.     

Evidence for evolutionary distinctiveness of a newly discovered population of sooglossid frogs on Praslin Island, Seychelles

Amidst a worldwide decline in amphibian populations, those species endemic to islands remain an important focus for conservation efforts. The Sooglossidae are a family of frog species endemic to the Seychelles islands that are believed to have evolved in isolation for approximately 75 million years. Formerly thought to inhabit just two Seychelles islands (Mahé and Silhouette), a third population was discovered on Praslin in 2009. Phylogenetic analysis based on 438 bp of mitochondrial 16S rRNA suggests that the Praslin population is most closely related to Sooglossus sechellensis from Silhouette, and identifies these as two separate clades which together sit distinct from the population on Mahé. An average of 4.06% uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence between the Praslin and Silhouette populations suggests substantial evolutionary divergence rather than recent introduction. Discriminant function analysis also revealed differences in morphology in frogs from Praslin and Mahé. DNA sequences of two Praslin specimens group more closely with the Mahé population, indicating some shared haplotypes that suggest recent secondary contact. Tests for a genetic signature of recent population expansion on either island were not significant. Our results suggest substantial evolutionary divergence between the three populations of S. sechellensis, most likely following isolation due to changes in sea level in the Indian Ocean. Whilst further genetic sampling and ecological studies are needed, our initial phylogenetic analyses suggest that the sooglossid population on Praslin should be managed as an evolutionarily significant unit to retain the uniqueness of its genetic diversity and its evolutionary trajectory within this ancient family of amphibians.     

Evolutionary Morphology in Belgium

In historical literature, Edouard van Beneden (1846–1910) is mostly remembered for his cytological discoveries. Less well known, however, is that he also introduced evolutionary morphology – and indeed evolutionary theory as such – in the Belgian academic world. The introduction of this research programme cannot be understood without taking both the international and the national context into account. It was clearly the German example of the Jena University that inspired van Beneden in his research interests. The actual launch of evolutionary morphology at his University of Liège was, however, also connected with the dynamic of Belgian university reforms and the local rationale of creating a research “school.” Thanks to his networks, his mastering of the rhetoric of the “new” biology, his low ideological profile and his capitalising on the new academic élan in late-19th century Belgium, van Beneden managed to turn his programme into a local success from the 1870s onwards. Two decades later, however, the conceptual underpinnings of evolutionary morphology came under attack and the “Van Beneden School” lost much of its vitality. Despite this, van Beneden’s evolutionary morphology was prototypical for the research that was to come. He was one of the first scientific heavyweights in Belgium to turn the university laboratory into a centre of scientific practice and the hub of a research school.     

Functional morphology and evolutionary biology

In this study the relationship between functional morpholoy and evolutionary biology is analysed by confronting the main concepts in both disciplines.Rather than only discussing this connection theoretically, the analysis is carried out by introducing important practical and experimental studies, which use aspects from both disciplines. The mentioned investigations are methodologically analysed and the consequences for extensions of the relationship are worked out. It can be shown that both disciplines have a large domain of their own and also share a large common ground. Many disagreements among evolutionary biologists can be reduced to differences in general philosophy (idealism vs. realism), selection of phenomenona (structure vs. function), definition of concepts (natural selection) and the position of the concept theory as an explaining factor (neutralists vs. selectionists, random variation, determinate selection, etc.).The significance of functional morphology for evolutionary biology, and vice versa depends on these differences. For a neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory, contributions from functional and ecological morphology are indispensable. Of ultimate importance are the notions of internal selection and constraints in the constructions determining further development. In this context the concepts of random variation and natural selection need more detailed definition.The study ends with a recommendation for future research founded in a system-theoretical or structuralistic conception.     

Molecular,quantitative and abiotic variables for the delineation of evolutionary significant units: case of sandalwood (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Santalum austrocaledonicum</Emphasis> Vieillard) in New Caledonia

Various approaches have been developed to define conservation units for plant and animal species. In this study we combined nuclear microsatellites (from a previous published study) and chloroplast microsatellites (assessed in the present study), leaf and seed morphology traits and abiotic variables (climate and soil) to define evolutionary significant units (ESU) of Santalum austrocaledonicum, a tree species growing in New Caledonia. Results for chloroplast microsatellites showed that the total population heterozygosity was␣high, (H _cp = 0.84) but varied between islands. Differentiation was strong in the total population (F _stcp = 0.66) but also within the main island Grande Terre (F _stcp = 0.73) and within Iles Loyauté (F _stcp = 0.52), highlighting a limited gene flow between populations. These results confirmed those obtained with nuclear microsatellites. The cluster analysis on molecular markers discriminated two main groups constituted by the populations of Grande Terre and the populations of Iles Loyauté. A principal component analysis of leaf and seed morphology traits singled out the populations of Iles Loyauté and the western populations of Grande Terre. Quantitative genetic analyses showed that the variation between populations was under genetic control (broad sense heritability close to 80%). A high correlation between rainfall and morphological traits suggested an impact of climate on this variation. The integration of these results allows to define two ESUs, one corresponding to Grande Terre and Ile des Pins and the other the Iles Loyauté archipelago. This study stresses the need to restore some populations of Grande Terre that are currently threatened by their small size.     

Severbal new problems in evolutionary histology]

The classical evolutionary histology as a most important section of theoretical morphology created by workd of A.A. Zavarzin, N.G. Khlopin and A.V. Rumiantsev needs a revision on the basis of achievements of modern morphology, first of all the experimental morphology which have accumulated a vast factual material on a repeated (regenerative, transplantational, inflammatory) morphogenesis, brought about on the basis of the constructive (plastic) activity of tissues which escaped the researchers' attention in the classical period of development of evolutionary histology. A demand to create a new system of the tissue, based on characteristics of their plastic (constructive) activity became urgent. The proposed attempt of the evolutionary classification of tissues comes from the experience of researches of the constructive (plastic) activity of tissues, with the Darwin--Severtsov rule of the dependence of every individual and phylogenetic change of the organization of its pre-existing state taken into consideration.     

Charles Darwin,evolutionary physiology,and origin of life

In the first half of the 19th century investigations began in the field of comparative and ontogenetic physiology, and the publication of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin became a further stimulus for the development of problems of evolutionary physiology. The term evolutionary physiology was coined by A.N. Severtzov in 1914, in the early 1930s the USSR created laboratories for the development of problems of evolutionary physiology. In 1956 L.A. Orbeli organized the Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology (Academy of Sciences of the USSR) in Leningrad. This paper discusses the problems of physiological paleontology, principles of the evolution of functions, regularities in functional evolution, and physiologic approaches to the origin of cell and life.     

The application of functional morphology to evolutionary studies

Studies of functional morphology contribute in several ways to the understanding of evolutionary patterns and processes. The former include the unravelling of dependencies of characters and the construction of biomechanically feasible transformation schemes. Among the latter are the identification of structural novelties that facilitate a cascade of diverse structural changes, and the Identification of mechanisms that enable the incorporation of evolutionary novelties into the integrated organism. The study of mechanisms that maintain the match between form and function during evolutionary (and developmental) changes is a new and important area for evolutionary biologists.     

Functional morphology and evolutionary ecology

Functional morphology studies physico-chemical properties and biological roles of organs. If applied to fossils this approach is connected with specific methodological problems. The fields of application of functional morphology in paleontology are illustrated with examples. In a working concept it is shown how the results of functional morphology can be integrated into an account of the evolutionary ecology of fossil taxa.     

Plasticity of ontogenetic trajectories in cyprinids: a source of evolutionary novelties

Research in evolutionary developmental (evo‐devo) biology is making an increasingly important contribution to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the establishment of complex morphological traits. Deciphering the ontogenetic trajectories leading to the differentiation of sister species (and the existence of hybrids) is a new challenge in our understanding of speciation processes. In the present study, we characterized the ontogenetic trajectory of lower lip morphology in two cyprinid species and their hybrids. Chondrostoma toxostoma has an arched lower lip and a generalist diet. Chondrostoma nasus has a straight lower lip and a specialist diet. An analysis of 99 C. toxostoma, 99 C. nasus and 25 first‐generation (F₁) hybrid individuals demonstrated that the difference between arched and straight lip morphology was found to depend strongly on the height/width ratio of the lower lip. A comparison of the ontogenetic trajectories of these morphometric traits showed that the height of the lower lip was isometric to body length in both species, whereas developmental changes involving an acceleration and a hypermorphosis of the widening of the lower lip led to a straight lip morphology in C. nasus. F₁ hybrids were characterized by an extreme phenotype resulting from a rate of lower lip widening slower than that in the two parent species. Therefore, we rejected a codominance hypothesis and concluded that the first stage of hybridization provides the foundations of evolutionary novelty. These results have important evolutionary implications because lower lip shape is linked to dietary behaviour in many fish species. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106 , 342–355.     

Iconometrographics in evolutionary biology

The essential dialogue between Apollinian and Dionysiac poles required for the advance of music and art was likened to the scientific debate between «justifiers» and «innovators». The use of ratios and simple algorithms was indicted as being retrogressive in terms of modern microcomputer technology and iconometrographic models. Three examples were used to illustrate the approach in the resolution of complex data sets comparing samples: (1) 45,XO with a 46,XY controls, (2) sexual dimorphism in young adults and (3) Black and White Olympic athletes. The iconometrographic approach was proposed as a primary orientation in human biology, particularly in secular trend studies concerned with the recognition and assessment of complex evolutionary trends.     

Mutationism and the dual causation of evolutionary change

The rediscovery of Mendel's laws a century ago launched the science that William Bateson called "genetics," and led to a new view of evolution combining selection, particulate inheritance, and the newly characterized phenomenon of "mutation." This "mutationist" view clashed with the earlier view of Darwin, and the later "Modern Synthesis," by allowing discontinuity, and by recognizing mutation (or more properly, mutation-and-altered-development) as a source of creativity, direction, and initiative. By the mid-20th century, the opposing Modern Synthesis view was a prevailing orthodoxy: under its influence, "evolution" was redefined as "shifting gene frequencies," that is, the sorting out of pre-existing variation without new mutations; and the notion that mutation-and-altered-development can exert a predictable influence on the course of evolutionary change was seen as heretical. Nevertheless, mutationist ideas re-surfaced: the notion of mutational determinants of directionality emerged in molecular evolution by 1962, followed in the 1980s by an interest among evolutionary developmental biologists in a shaping or creative role of developmental propensities of variation, and more recently, a recognition by theoretical evolutionary geneticists of the importance of discontinuity and of new mutations in adaptive dynamics. The synthetic challenge presented by these innovations is to integrate mutation-and-altered-development into a new understanding of the dual causation of evolutionary change--a broader and more predictive understanding that already can lay claim to important empirical and theoretical results--and to develop a research program appropriately emphasizing the emergence of variation as a cause of propensities of evolutionary change.     

Divergent evolutionary processes associated with colonization of offshore islands

Oceanic islands have been a test ground for evolutionary theory, but here, we focus on the possibilities for evolutionary study created by offshore islands. These can be colonized through various means and by a wide range of species, including those with low dispersal capabilities. We use morphology, modern and ancient sequences of cytochrome b (cytb) and microsatellite genotypes to examine colonization history and evolutionary change associated with occupation of the Orkney archipelago by the common vole (Microtus arvalis), a species found in continental Europe but not in Britain. Among possible colonization scenarios, our results are most consistent with human introduction at least 5100 bp (confirmed by radiocarbon dating). We used approximate Bayesian computation of population history to infer the coast of Belgium as the possible source and estimated the evolutionary timescale using a Bayesian coalescent approach. We showed substantial morphological divergence of the island populations, including a size increase presumably driven by selection and reduced microsatellite variation likely reflecting founder events and genetic drift. More surprisingly, our results suggest that a recent and widespread cytb replacement event in the continental source area purged cytb variation there, whereas the ancestral diversity is largely retained in the colonized islands as a genetic ‘ark’. The replacement event in the continental M. arvalis was probably triggered by anthropogenic causes (land‐use change). Our studies illustrate that small offshore islands can act as field laboratories for studying various evolutionary processes over relatively short timescales, informing about the mainland source area as well as the island.     

Ecological and morphological determinants of evolutionary diversification in Darwin's finches and their relatives

Darwin''s finches are a classic example of adaptive radiation, a process by which multiple ecologically distinct species rapidly evolve from a single ancestor. Such evolutionary diversification is typically explained by adaptation to new ecological opportunities. However, the ecological diversification of Darwin''s finches following their dispersal to Galápagos was not matched on the same archipelago by other lineages of colonizing land birds, which diversified very little in terms of both species number and morphology. To better understand the causes underlying the extraordinary variation in Darwin''s finches, we analyze the evolutionary dynamics of speciation and trait diversification in Thraupidae, including Coerebinae (Darwin''s finches and relatives) and, their closely related clade, Sporophilinae. For all traits, we observe an early pulse of speciation and morphological diversification followed by prolonged periods of slower steady‐state rates of change. The primary exception is the apparent recent increase in diversification rate in Darwin''s finches coupled with highly variable beak morphology, a potential key factor explaining this adaptive radiation. Our observations illustrate how the exploitation of ecological opportunity by contrasting means can produce clades with similarly high diversification rate yet strikingly different degrees of ecological and morphological differentiation.     

Modelling external bone adaptation using evolutionary structural optimisation

External remodelling is significant in the bone healing process, and it is essential to predict the bone external shape in the design of artificial bone grafts. This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the evolutionary structural optimisation (ESO) method for the simulation of bone morphology. A two-dimensional ESO strategy is developed which is capable of finding the modified bone topology beginning with any geometry under any loading conditions. The morphology of bone structure is described by the quantitative bone adaptation theory, which is integrated with the finite element method. The evolutionary topology optimisation process is introduced to find the bone shape. A rectangle, which occupies a larger space than the external shape of the bone structure, is specified as a design domain; the evolutionary process iteratively eliminates and redistributes material throughout the domain to obtain an optimum arrangement of bone materials. The technique has been tested on a wide range of examples. In this paper, the formation of trabecular bone architecture around an implant is studied; as another example, the growth of the coronal section of a vertebral body is predicted. The examples support the assertion that the external shape of bone structure can be successfully predicted by the proposed ESO procedure.     

Phylogenetically patterned speciation rates and extinction risks change the loss of evolutionary history during extinctions

If we are to plan conservation strategies that minimize the loss of evolutionary history through human-caused extinctions, we must understand how this loss is related to phylogenetic patterns in current extinction risks and past speciation rates. Nee & May (1997, Science 278, 692-694) showed that for a randomly evolving clade (i) a single round of random extinction removed relatively little evolutionary history, and (ii) extinction management (choosing which taxa to sacrifice) offered only marginal improvement. However, both speciation rates and extinction risks vary across lineages within real clades. We simulated evolutionary trees with phylogenetically patterned speciation rates and extinction risks (closely related lineages having similar rates and risks) and then subjected them to several biologically informed models of extinction. Increasing speciation rate variation increases the extinction-management pay-off. When extinction risks vary among lineages but are uncorrelated with speciation rates, extinction removes more history (compared with random trees), but the difference is small. When extinction risks vary and are correlated with speciation rates, history loss can dramatically increase (negative correlation) or decrease (positive correlation) with speciation rate variation. The loss of evolutionary history via human-caused extinctions may therefore be more severe, yet more manageable, than first suggested.     

Development and evolutionary origin of feathers

Avian feathers are a complex evolutionary novelty characterized by structural diversity and hierarchical development. Here, I propose a functionally neutral model of the origin and evolutionary diversification of bird feathers based on the hierarchical details of feather development. I propose that feathers originated with the evolution of the first feather follicle-a cylindrical epidermal invagination around the base of a dermal papilla. A transition series of follicle and feather morphologies is hypothesized to have evolved through a series of stages of increasing complexity in follicle structure and follicular developmental mechanisms. Follicular evolution proceeded with the origin of the undifferentiated collar (stage I), barb ridges (stage II), helical displacement of barb ridges, barbule plates, and the new barb locus (stage III), differentiation of pennulae of distal and proximal barbules (stage IV), and diversification of barbule structure and the new barb locus position (stage V). The model predicts that the first feather was an undifferentiated cylinder (stage I), which was followed by a tuft of unbranched barbs (stage II). Subsequently, with the origin of the rachis and barbules, the bipinnate feather evolved (stage III), followed then by the pennaceous feather with a closed vane (stage IV) and other structural diversity (stages Va-f). The model is used to evaluate the developmental plausibility of proposed functional theories of the origin of feathers. Early feathers (stages I, II) could have functioned in communication, defense, thermal insulation, or water repellency. Feathers could not have had an aerodynamic function until after bipinnate, closed pennaceous feathers (stage IV) had evolved. The morphology of the integumental structures of the coelurisaurian theropod dinosaurs Sinosauropteryx and Beipiaosaurus are congruent with the model's predictions of the form of early feathers (stage I or II). Additional research is required to examine whether these fossil integumental structures developed from follicles and are homologous with avian feathers. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 285:291-306, 1999.Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Evidence for evolutionary changes in ontogeny: Paleontological, comparative-morphological, and molecular aspects

It has been noted that the integration of modern data of paleontology, comparative morphology, developmental biology, and molecular genetics forms the basis for understanding the mechanisms of evolutionary transformations of ontogeny. Paleontological and morphological evidence of the evolutionary changes in ontogeny are considered based on the data of cell and molecular biology and developmental genetics. It is shown that reorganizations of gene regulatory cascades (mainly Hox genes) play a key role in the evolution of the axial organization of animals and modifications of the limb structure of metazoans, whereas the formation of new types of structures was apparently determined by the emergence of new populations of stem cells in embryogenesis (for example, neural crest cells in the evolution of vertebrates).     

Strong morphological support for the molecular evolutionary tree of placental mammals

The emerging molecular evolutionary tree for placental mammals differs greatly from morphological trees, leading to repeated suggestions that morphology is uninformative at this level. This view is here refuted empirically, using an extensive morphological and molecular dataset totalling 17 431 characters. When analysed alone, morphology indeed is highly misleading, contradicting nearly every clade in the preferred tree (obtained from the molecular or the combined data). Widespread homoplasy overrides historical signal. However, when added to the molecular data, morphology surprisingly increases support for most clades in the preferred tree. The homoplasy in the morphology is incongruent with all aspects of the molecular signal, while the historical signal in the morphology is congruent with (and amplifies) the historical signal in the molecular data. Thus, morphology remains relevant in the genomic age, providing vital independent corroboration of the molecular tree of mammals.     

Towards a postmodern synthesis of evolutionary biology

In 2009, we are celebrating the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin and the 150th jubilee of his masterpiece, the Origin of Species. Darwin constructed the first coherent and compelling narrative of biological evolution and thus founded evolutionary biology—and modern biology in general, remembering the famous dictum of Dobzhansky. It is, however, counter-productive, and ultimately, a disservice to Darwin’s legacy, to define modern evolutionary biology as neo-Darwinism. The current picture of evolution, informed by results of comparative genomics and systems biology, is by far more complex than that presented in the Origin of Species, so that Darwinian principles, including natural selection, are incorporated into the evolving new synthesis as important but certainly not all-embracing tenets. This expansion of evolutionary biology does not denigrate Darwin in the least but rather emphasizes the fertility of his ideas.