{"title":"Phenotypic Plasticity in Embryonic Development of Reptiles: Recent Research and Research Opportunities in China","authors":"Weiguo, Du, Xiang, Ji, Richard, Shine","doi":"10.3724/SP.J.1245.2013.00001","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Adaptive developmental plasticity can enable an organism to modify its phenotype rapidly, in response to local (and perhaps, unpredictable) conditions, by altering reaction norms during development. Previous studies on this topic have been dominated by western scientists, employing western study systems and approaches. Recently, the ex- pansion of Chinese ecological research has seen a broadening of studies taxonomically (phylogenetically). Here, we briefly summarize research that has been conducted on developmental plasticity in Chinese reptiles over the past two decades, and suggest productive directions for future studies in this field. There are exciting research opportunities in this field in China, and we call for increased collaboration between western and eastern scientists to elucidate the role of developmental plasticity in evolutionary responses of organisms to environmental changes. As human activities increase the intensity and frequency of such changes, the need to understand responses of biological systems becomes an increa- singly urgent priority.","PeriodicalId":49236,"journal":{"name":"Asian Herpetological Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2013-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"3","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asian Herpetological Research","FirstCategoryId":"1089","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1245.2013.00001","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ZOOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 3
Abstract
Adaptive developmental plasticity can enable an organism to modify its phenotype rapidly, in response to local (and perhaps, unpredictable) conditions, by altering reaction norms during development. Previous studies on this topic have been dominated by western scientists, employing western study systems and approaches. Recently, the ex- pansion of Chinese ecological research has seen a broadening of studies taxonomically (phylogenetically). Here, we briefly summarize research that has been conducted on developmental plasticity in Chinese reptiles over the past two decades, and suggest productive directions for future studies in this field. There are exciting research opportunities in this field in China, and we call for increased collaboration between western and eastern scientists to elucidate the role of developmental plasticity in evolutionary responses of organisms to environmental changes. As human activities increase the intensity and frequency of such changes, the need to understand responses of biological systems becomes an increa- singly urgent priority.
期刊介绍:
AHR aims to provide a forum for herpetologists and related scientists interested in conducting international academic exchanges and joint studies, and a platform for introducing their newly made scientific and technological data, and publishing their research results and achievements in the world, but focusing on the Asian-Pacific Region.
The principal criteria of AHR for acceptance of articles for publication are the quality and significance of the research, breadth of interest of the work to the readership, and the clarity and effectiveness of communication. AHR welcomes submission of manuscripts from authors in all countries of the world, though with a focus on the herpetological studies in the Asian and Pacific Region, including major articles, shorter communications and review articles.