Development shapes the evolutionary diversification of rodent stripe patterns
Abstract
How and why did diverse animal color patterns evolve? Explanations for pattern diversification typically emphasize the ecological forces that select for color patterns (e.g., camouflage or sexual selection). However, pattern diversification may also critically depend on the developmental mechanisms that provide the substrate for pattern evolution. Here, drawing on empirical advances, we explore theoretically how development shapes rodent pattern diversification. We show that pattern diversification can indeed be partly explained by underlying developmental mechanisms. Specifically, development can both facilitate and constrain pattern evolution by enabling evolutionary changes in stripe number while limiting changes in stripe positioning. Thus, by integrating developmental data, models of pattern formation, and empirical data on pattern diversity, our work helps bridge the gap between pattern evolution and pattern development.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- October 2023
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.2312077120
- Bibcode:
- 2023PNAS..12012077S