Mother nature's tolerant ways: Why non-genetic inheritance has nothing to do with evolution

Dickins, Thomas E.; Dickins, Benjamin

doi:10.1016/j.newideapsych.2007.03.004

Cited by 22 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…It could all be entirely externally sourced, as it possibly is in each of Jablonka & Lamb's four dimensions. For those focusing on genetic systems it is a basic principle that genes rely on inputs from other genes and the environment external to them to function [49]. However, a key organizational point, which was recognized during the MS, is that the level of the gene is where the conceptual buck stops [18].…”

Section: Causation and Levels Of Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The extended evolutionary synthesis and the role of soft inheritance in evolution

2012

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In recent years, a number of researchers have advocated extending the modern synthesis in evolutionary biology. One of the core arguments made in favour of an extension comes from work on soft inheritance systems, including transgenerational epigenetic effects, cultural transmission and niche construction. In this study, we outline this claim and then take issue with it. We argue that the focus on soft inheritance has led to a conflation of proximate and ultimate causation, which has in turn obscured key questions about biological organization and calibration across the life span to maximize average lifetime inclusive fitness. We illustrate this by presenting hypotheses that we believe incorporate the core phenomena of soft inheritance and will aid in understanding them.

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Section: Causation and Levels Of Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The extended evolutionary synthesis and the role of soft inheritance in evolution

2012

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“…EPSS, for example, is quite explicit that observed behaviour results from the interaction of a universal human nature with environmental conditions, such that behaviours are contingent, just as HBE assumes. Psychological mechanisms themselves are to be seen as conditional, or decision architectures, just as genes and other biological systems are (DICKINS and DICKINS 2007). This can work in two ways: (1) we have an evolved capacity to remember stimuli and make associations between them, for example, but the actual remembered material and associations made are a consequence of external factors and their salience in a given ecology; and, (2) psychological mechanisms are information processors designed to make judgements about best utility, which means that they embody strategies for different contingencies.…”

Section: Resolutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthesis in the human evolutionary behavioural sciences

Sear

Lawson²,

Dickins³

2007

Journal of Evolutionary Psychology

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Abstract. Over the last three decades, the application of evolutionary theory to the human sciences has shown remarkable growth. This growth has also been characterised by a 'splitting' process, with the emergence of distinct sub-disciplines, most notably: Human Behavioural Ecology (HBE), Evolutionary Psychology (EP) and studies of Cultural Evolution (CE). Multiple applications of evolutionary ideas to the human sciences are undoubtedly a good thing, demonstrating the usefulness of this approach to human affairs. Nevertheless, this fracture has been associated with considerable tension, a lack of integration, and sometimes outright conflict between researchers. In recent years however, there have been clear signs of hope that a synthesis of the human evolutionary behavioural sciences is underway. Here, we briefly review the history of the debate, both its theoretical and practical causes; then provide evidence that the field is currently becoming more integrated, as the traditional boundaries between sub-disciplines become blurred. This article constitutes the first paper under the new editorship of the Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, which aims to further this integration by explicitly providing a forum for integrated work.

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“…As a consequence, beyond potentially important but theoretically superficial details (such as a change in the order of magnitude of mutation rates, or the fact that a substantial part of NGI might have been mistakenly assimilated with standard genetic effects), the analysis of formal models rarely calls for deep changes in our way of understanding the evolution of genetic systems. Overall, these observations, together with the fact that NGI mechanisms are controlled by the genetic system, suggest that their effect on evolution could be analysed within the traditional Mendelian framework (Dickins & Dickins, ). Yet, long‐term effects on the structure of the genotype‐to‐phenotype map have never been ruled out (Day & Bonduriansky, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Modelling the influence of parental effects on gene‐network evolution

Odorico

Rünneburger

Rouzic

2018

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Understanding the importance of nongenetic heredity in the evolutionary process is a major topic in modern evolutionary biology. We modified a classical gene-network model by allowing parental transmission of gene expression and studied its evolutionary properties through individual-based simulations. We identified ontogenetic time (i.e. the time gene networks have to stabilize before being submitted to natural selection) as a crucial factor in determining the evolutionary impact of this phenotypic inheritance. Indeed, fast-developing organisms display enhanced adaptation and greater robustness to mutations when evolving in presence of nongenetic inheritance (NGI). In contrast, in our model, long development reduces the influence of the inherited state of the gene network. NGI thus had a negligible effect on the evolution of gene networks when the speed at which transcription levels reach equilibrium is not constrained. Nevertheless, simulations show that intergenerational transmission of the gene-network state negatively affects the evolution of robustness to environmental disturbances for either fast- or slow-developing organisms. Therefore, these results suggest that the evolutionary consequences of NGI might not be sought only in the way species respond to selection, but also on the evolution of emergent properties (such as environmental and genetic canalization) in complex genetic architectures.

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Mother nature's tolerant ways: Why non-genetic inheritance has nothing to do with evolution

Cited by 22 publications

References 12 publications

The extended evolutionary synthesis and the role of soft inheritance in evolution

The extended evolutionary synthesis and the role of soft inheritance in evolution

Synthesis in the human evolutionary behavioural sciences

Modelling the influence of parental effects on gene‐network evolution

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