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Genetics of fluctuating asymmetry: A developmental model of developmental instability

Publication ,  Journal Article
Klingenberg, CP; Nijhout, HF
Published in: Evolution
1999

Although numerous studies have found that fluctuating asymmetry (FA) can have a heritable component, the genetic and developmental basis of FA is poorly understood. We used a developmental model of a trait, according to a diffusion-threshold process, whose parameters are under genetic control. We added a small amount of random variation to the parameter values of this model to simulate developmental noise. As a result of the nonlinearity of the model, different genotypes differed in their sensitivity to developmental noise, even though the noise is completely random and independent of the genotype. The heritable component of FA can thus be understood as genetically modulated expression of variation that is itself entirely nongenetic. The loci responsible for this genetic variation of FA are the same that affect the left/right mean of the trait, showing that genetic variation for FA does not require genes that specifically control FA. Furthermore, the model offers alternative explanations for phenomena widely discussed in the literature on FA, for instance, the correlations between FA and heterozygosity and between FA and trait size. The model underscores the importance of dominance and epistasis, and therefore unites the study of FA with the classical theory of quantitative genetics.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Evolution

Publication Date

1999

Volume

53

Issue

2

Start / End Page

358 / 375

Related Subject Headings

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology
 

Citation

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MLA
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Klingenberg, C. P., & Nijhout, H. F. (1999). Genetics of fluctuating asymmetry: A developmental model of developmental instability. Evolution, 53(2), 358–375.
Klingenberg, C. P., and H. F. Nijhout. “Genetics of fluctuating asymmetry: A developmental model of developmental instability.” Evolution 53, no. 2 (1999): 358–75.
Klingenberg CP, Nijhout HF. Genetics of fluctuating asymmetry: A developmental model of developmental instability. Evolution. 1999;53(2):358–75.
Klingenberg, C. P., and H. F. Nijhout. “Genetics of fluctuating asymmetry: A developmental model of developmental instability.” Evolution, vol. 53, no. 2, 1999, pp. 358–75.
Klingenberg CP, Nijhout HF. Genetics of fluctuating asymmetry: A developmental model of developmental instability. Evolution. 1999;53(2):358–375.

Published In

Evolution

Publication Date

1999

Volume

53

Issue

2

Start / End Page

358 / 375

Related Subject Headings

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology