Developmental Plasticity Induced by Either External or Internal Environment Co-opts Ancient Regulatory Networks

Abstract

We describe two examples of developmental plasticity during fruit fly development. One pertains to a nutritionally dependent eye color mutation and the other to morphogenesis of a secondary sex characteristic depending on local tissue conditions. In both cases, we suggest that plasticity is based on harnessing ancient pathways, metabolic pathways in the case of the eye color mutation, and cellular pathways in the case of tissue morphogenesis.