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    • How phenotypic plasticity made its way into molecular biology

      Michel Morange

      Articles Volume 34 Issue 4 October 2009 pp 495-501

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      Permanent link:
      https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/jbsc/034/04/0495-0501

    • Keywords

       

      Cyclogenic theories; modules; models; multistability; stem cells

    • Abstract

       

      Phenotypic plasticity has been fashionable in recent years. It has never been absent from the studies of evolutionary biologists, although the availability of stable animal models has limited its role. Although opposed by the reductionist and deterministic approach of molecular biology, phenotypic plasticity has nevertheless recently made its way into this discipline, in particular through the limits of the molecular description. Its resurrection has been triggered by a small group of theoreticians, the rise of epigenetic descriptions and the publicized discovery of stem cell plasticity. The notion of phenotypic plasticity remains vague. History shows that too strong a belief in plasticity can be an obstacle to the development of biology. Two important questions are still pending: the link between the different forms of plasticity present at different levels of organization, and the relation, if any, between the modular organization of organisms and phenotypic plasticity. Future research will help to discriminate between possible and actual mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity, and to give phenotypic plasticity its real place in the living world.

    • Author Affiliations

       

      Michel Morange1

      1. Centre Cavaillès and IHPST, Ecole normale supérieure, 29 rue d'Ulm, 75230 Paris Cedex 05, France

    • Dates

       
      Published
      October 2009
      Early published
      3 August 2009

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      Plant mitochondria are quite distinct and have unique features, such as a cyanide-insensitive alternate pathway. They also interact with chloroplasts to optimize photosynthetic carbon assimilation.


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