Phenotypic accommodation and genetic accommodation: evidence and unresolved issues in macroevolution

Abstract

The role of new concepts related to developmental plasticity, such as phenotypic accommodation and genetic accommodation, in macroevolution is the focus of several recent studies. Phenotypic accommodation is a multiple phenotypic character’s reorganization, induced by new developmental stimulus, but without genetic change. Genetic accommodation might follow, consisting of a developmental plasticity’s allele frequency change, prompted by natural selection. Speciation induced by genetic accommodation is partially supported in natural populations and some of its mechanisms have been revealed. Phenotypic accommodation of environmentallyinduced stimuli, originating evolutionary novelties, is a poor-accepted and rarely tested hypothesis, remaining as an unresolved issue.