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Phenotypic plasticity refers to some of the changes in an organism's behavior, morphology and physiology in response to a unique environment. [1] [2] Fundamental to the way in which organisms cope with environmental variation, phenotypic plasticity encompasses all types of environmentally induced changes (e.g. morphological, physiological, behavioural, phenological) that may or may not be ...
The concept of phenotypic plasticity defines the degree to which an organism's phenotype is determined by its genotype. A high level of plasticity means that environmental factors have a strong influence on the particular phenotype that develops.
Bacterial morphological plasticity refers to changes in the shape and size that bacterial cells undergo when they encounter stressful environments. Although bacteria have evolved complex molecular strategies to maintain their shape, many are able to alter their shape as a survival strategy in response to protist predators, antibiotics, the immune response, and other threats.
The Baldwin effect only posits that learning ability, which is genetically based, is another variable in / contributor to environmental adaptation. First proposed during the Eclipse of Darwinism in the late 19th century, this effect has been independently proposed several times, and today it is generally recognized as part of the modern synthesis .
Pleomorphism has been observed in some members of the Deinococcaceae family of bacteria. [1] The modern definition of pleomorphism in the context of bacteriology is based on variation of morphology or functional methods of the individual cell, rather than a heritable change of these characters as previously believed.
An ecotype refers to organisms which belong to the same species but have different phenotypical characteristics as a result of their adaptations to different habitats. [6] Differences between these two groups is attributed to phenotypic plasticity and are too few for them to be termed as wholly different species. [ 7 ]
In ecology and genetics, a reaction norm, also called a norm of reaction, describes the pattern of phenotypic expression of a single genotype across a range of environments. One use of reaction norms is in describing how different species—especially related species—respond to varying environments.
The way that organismal development and developmental plasticity channel evolutionary pathways [57] [41] [43] and generates phenotypic novelty [48] [49] [58] How organisms modify the environments they belong to through niche construction. [5] [2]