Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tim Burton, Irja Ida Ratikainen, Sigurd Einum
Summary: This article examines the rate at which reversible phenotypic plasticity (RPP) occurs and its potential impact on how organisms overcome environmental challenges. The study suggests that current theoretical models do not consider the evolutionary potential of RPP rates. If the rate of plasticity itself can evolve, it may alter the organism's perception of environmental predictability and influence the slope of the evolved reaction norm. The optimization of phenotypic plasticity rates, their evolutionary dynamics in different environments, and the costs associated with them warrant further exploration in future research.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Giacomo Puglielli, Carlos P. Carmona, Laura Varone, Lauri Laanisto, Carlo Ricotta
Summary: In trait-based ecology, it is common to use measures to quantify phenotypic variation between populations. However, these measures overlook the within-population trait variability and some of them cannot be partitioned between populations. This study proposes a new measure called the phenotypic dissimilarity (PhD) index to address these issues and provide a tool for quantifying phenotypic variation within and between species.
Article
Immunology
Yuzhe Hu, Chen Liu, Wenling Han, Pingzhang Wang
Summary: This study proposes a theoretical framework for immune cell phenotypic classification based on gene plasticity, and suggests that loss and gain of phenotype are accompanied by changes in gene plasticity. Transcriptome data analysis from multiple immune cell types supports the logical rationality and generality of this framework, providing a new perspective on understanding diverse immune cell phenotypes and intrinsic regulation in the immune system. Moreover, the results obtained provide a useful resource for big-data-driven experimental studies and knowledge discoveries.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Erik D. Enbody, Mats E. Pettersson, C. Grace Sprehn, Stefan Palm, Hakan Wickstrom, Leif Andersson
Summary: Research shows that European eels belong to a single panmictic population with no geographical genetic differentiation. The predominant mechanism for European eels to respond to diverse environmental conditions is phenotypic plasticity rather than genetic adaptation.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Silvia Matesanz, Mario Blanco-Sanchez, Marina Ramos-Munoz, Marcelino de la Cruz, Raquel Benavides, Adrian Escudero
Summary: The study investigates the relationship between phenotypic plasticity and integration, finding that while plasticity is positively associated with integration in both environments, this relationship is influenced by phenotypic variation. Differences in plastic responses may involve a major reorganization of trait relationships, challenging the idea that stress generally induces a tighter phenotype.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Camila Lima Neves, Christiano Marcello Vaz Barbosa, Priscila Andrade Raneia-Silva, Eliana L. Faquim-Mauro, Sandra Coccuzzo Sampaio
Summary: Macrophage plasticity plays a vital role in the immune response, and the toxin Crotoxin has been found to influence the phenotypic reprogramming of macrophages, leading to effects on tumor progression.
Review
Food Science & Technology
Michael A. Tranulis, Morten Tryland
Summary: Prion diseases are transmissible neurodegenerative disorders that can be transmitted to humans through consumption of infected ruminant species. The identification of BSE prions as the cause of vCJD sparked a food safety crisis and led to protective measures. CWD continues to spread in North America and the discovery of unrecognized CWD strains in Europe has increased concerns about its risk as a food pathogen.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Melisandre A. Tefit, Tifanny Budiman, Adrianna Dupriest, Joanne Y. Yew
Summary: The microbiome has been proposed as a key factor in driving phenotypic variation in host organisms, affecting metabolic processes, development, and novel functions necessary for survival. A study inoculating germ-free fruit flies with microbes from different environmental sites shows that these microbes induce significant variation in reproduction, fatty acid levels, stress tolerance, and sleep behavior. Removal of microbes eliminates these phenotypic differences, supporting the causal role of environmental microbes in driving host phenotypic plasticity and potentially rapid adaptation and evolution.
Review
Ecology
Gisela C. Stotz, Cristian Salgado-Luarte, Victor M. Escobedo, Fernando Valladares, Ernesto Gianoli
Summary: The study found a positive association between phenotypic plasticity and climatic variability only for plasticity in allocation, and plasticity in leaf morphology, size and physiology were positively associated with mean annual temperature. Evidence also showed that phenotypic plasticity in physiology is limited by cold stress. Overall, plant plastic responses to non-climatic factors were stronger than responses to climatic factors.
Article
Ecology
Jose M. Gomez, Adela Gonzalez-Megias, Cristina Armas, Eduardo Narbona, Luis Navarro, Francisco Perfectti
Summary: Plasticity can have direct effects on the interactions between species, by expanding or shifting interaction niches, and ultimately modifying the structure and functionality of ecological networks. This causal pathway may explain how interaction niches evolve quickly in response to rapid environmental changes and is important for understanding the impact of global change on ecological interactions.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Emily Y. Chen, Diane K. Adams
Summary: This study traces the evolution of pre-feeding phenotypic plasticity in regular sea urchins using molecular mechanisms. It finds that the neurosensory foundation for plasticity is ancestral within echinoids, but the coincident development of the plastic trait and neurosensory system occurs in regular urchins. The study also reveals that plasticity continues to evolve in urchins, often associated with losses of sensory abilities and neurons.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nannan Liu, Yuanhao Du, Marilyn L. Warburton, Yingjie Xiao, Jianbing Yan
Summary: The study found rich phenotypic plasticity variation among maize F-1 hybrids, involving hundreds of quantitative trait loci, most of which contributed little variance. Heterosis in terms of phenotypic plasticity was also observed, which is crucial for understanding the genetic structure and breeding of maize.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Review
Oncology
Shufang Zheng, Hanrui Bian, Jintong Li, Yumeng Shen, Yong Yang, Weiwei Hu
Summary: Differentiation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma aims to restore normal liver characteristics of tumor cells, suppress malignant phenotype, and induce differentiation into hepatocyte-like cells. Understanding the molecular and signaling pathways controlling HCC differentiation is crucial for inducing differentiation therapy.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN ONCOLOGY HEMATOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Trevor J. Chan, Xingjian Zhang, Michael Mak
Summary: In this study, we propose an analytical method to quantify both single-cell morphologies and cell network topologies of tumor cell populations and predict 3D cell behavior. We utilized a supervised deep learning approach for instance segmentation and identified six distinct morphological subclasses. Differences in tumor growth and invasion dynamics were observed across subclasses in an in vitro 3D spheroid model. Compared to existing methods, our analytical method is more efficient, requires no specialized equipment, and is suitable for high-throughput applications such as drug screening and clinical diagnosis.
Article
Plant Sciences
S. P. Bonser
Summary: Plasticity in fitness and performance traits is crucial for plant adaptation to changing environments, but the misinterpretation of plastic responses highlights the need for guidelines in interpreting adaptive responses.