Theme 1:
Fundamental processes in developmental
plasticity
We have developed new conceptual constructs including the proposition that developmental responses to environmental cues can be categorised as disruptive or plastic. Plastic responses can be classified as either immediately or predictively adaptive, but the latter may become maladaptive if the developmental forecast is incorrect. In developing this model, we have built on knowledge in developmental plasticity as well as concepts from evolutionary and ecological developmental biology such as canalisation, stabilising and destabilising selection, and genetic and phenotypic accommodation.
We propose that the mechanisms of developmental plasticity have evolved to tune the match of the organism to its later environment. However in the mammal there is a potential for misinterpretation of cues transmitted to the fetus or infant by the mother, thus creating a risk of mismatch and maladaptive consequences, which in humans may manifest as a greater risk of disease. We propose that this process should be considered a distinct aetiological pathway of disease causation.
We have asked why multiple inducers appear to lead to a convergent form of phenotype with changes in a number of systems, and suggest that responses to early life cues involve integrated changes in metabolism, brain development and endocrine development (what we term the metabolic phenotype) and the processes underpinning longevity — a life history approach.
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Current projects
1. Evolutionary biology, developmental plasticity, health and disease
This project is a cluster of theoretical and conceptual studies, supported by both mathematical modelling and empirical data collection from animal and human studies, to investigate core concepts in evolutionary and developmental biology in the light of emerging knowledge in epigenetic and cellular processes. At the core of this proposal is the hypothesis that developmental plasticity occurs during a brief period early in life, when an organism is able to take signals from its environment (such as how much food is available), make predictions about the world it will grow up in, and adapt its development to suit.
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Project leader: Prof Sir Peter Gluckman ( Project team: Dr Alan Beedle, Dr Tatjana Buklijas, Tony Pleasants, Dr Tanya Soboleva, Dr Paul Shorten, Prof Hamish Spencer, Dr Mark Vickers, Tim Smith (PhD student), Phuong Nguyen (PhD student) |
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2. How do epigenetic mechanisms control developmental polyphenisms?
This is an experimental project investigating how epigenetic mechanisms control and maintain polyphenisms. Underpinning this project is the observation that animals with the same genetic background will produce different physical characteristics based on a changing environment (polyphenism). Unique to this proposal is the use of honeybees, which provide an excellent example of naturally occurring polyphenism (bees develop into workers or, in special cases, into queens). The nature of honeybee development allows us to investigate gene expressions and epigenetic differences between worker and queen ovaries, and to determine how these change when worker ovaries are reactivated and begin to produce eggs.
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Project leader: Dr Peter Dearden ( Project team: Dr Allan Sheppard, Megan Leask (PhD student) |
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