Empirical studies of phenotypic variation show that genetic and environmental heterogeneity account for only part of it. Usually, the magnitude of the residual variation is comparable with that of the genetic component, while notably exceeding the magnitude of the environmental component. This can be interpreted in two ways. A deterministic interpretation associates it with artifacts such as measurement error and genetic and environmental heterogeneity that is unaccounted for. An indeterministic interpretation argues that it is random or stochastic phenotypic variation (SPV) resulting from developmental instability — a developing organism's inability to produce a consistent phenotype in a given environment. Classical example of debates between determinists and indeterminists took place about a century ago in quantum physics. In discussing Heidelberg's Uncertainty Principle, Einstein metaphorically expressed his deterministic position: ‘God does not play dice with universe'. The indeterministic Uncertainty Principle, however, was eventually widely accepted. Currently, most biologists implicitly or explicitly support deterministic interpretations of phenotypic variation patterns. Here, a wide range of data on morphological traits (studied with analysis of fluctuating asymmetry) and non-morphological traits are analyzed to provide evidence that SPV is not an artifact, but a valid phenomenon. This evidence supports conclusions that observed associations between SPV and stress can be analyzed in the framework of dynamic energy budget theory, and are inextricably linked through energy homeostasis.
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September 2022
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The cover of this issue of Emerging Topics in Life Sciences (volume 6, issue 3) features an image from the article by Jiang and Moubayidin, featuring examples of flower morphologies displaying different types of symmetry: (top left) bilateral symmetry in Pinguicula moranensis; (bottom left) biradial symmetry in Aubrieta deltoidei; (top right) 3-fold radial symmetry in Lilium auratum; (bottom right) 5-fold radial symmetry in Nemophila Discoidalis.
Review Article|
May 27 2022
God playing dice, revisited: determinism and indeterminism in studies of stochastic phenotypic variation
Dmitry Lajus
Saint-Petersburg State University, 16 Linia V.O. 7-29, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
Correspondence: Dmitry Lajus (dlajus@gmail.com)
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
February 18 2022
Revision Received:
April 11 2022
Accepted:
April 22 2022
Online ISSN: 2397-8562
Print ISSN: 2397-8554
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society and the Royal Society of Biology
2022
Emerg Top Life Sci (2022) 6 (3): 303–310.
Article history
Received:
February 18 2022
Revision Received:
April 11 2022
Accepted:
April 22 2022
Citation
Dmitry Lajus; God playing dice, revisited: determinism and indeterminism in studies of stochastic phenotypic variation. Emerg Top Life Sci 9 September 2022; 6 (3): 303–310. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/ETLS20210285
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