No relationship between vertebral column shifts and limb fluctuating asymmetry in human foetuses
Disturbance from the normal developmental trajectory of a trait during growth—the so-called developmental instability—can be observed morphologically through phenodeviants and subtle deviations from perfect symmetry (fluctuating asymmetry). This study investigates the relationship between phenodevia...
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doaj-a103ac1cc80b4947b043d507a666670c2020-11-24T22:29:02ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592017-06-015e335910.7717/peerj.3359No relationship between vertebral column shifts and limb fluctuating asymmetry in human foetusesClara M.A. ten Broek0Jessica Bots1Marianna Bugiani2Frietson Galis3Stefan Van Dongen4Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, NetherlandsEvolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, Universiteit Antwerpen, Wilrijk, Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Pathology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, NetherlandsNaturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, NetherlandsEvolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, Universiteit Antwerpen, Wilrijk, Antwerp, BelgiumDisturbance from the normal developmental trajectory of a trait during growth—the so-called developmental instability—can be observed morphologically through phenodeviants and subtle deviations from perfect symmetry (fluctuating asymmetry). This study investigates the relationship between phenodeviance in the human vertebral column (as a result of axial patterning defects) and limb fluctuating asymmetry. Since both types of markers of developmental instability have been found associated with congenital abnormalities in humans, we anticipate a relationship between them if the concept of developmental instability, measured through either phenodeviants or asymmetry, would reflect an organism-wide process. Yet we did not find any support for this hypothesis. We argue that the vast differences in the developmental processes involved in both systems renders these two markers of developmental instability unrelated, in spite of their associations with other congenital abnormalities. Our results thus contribute to the growing awareness that developmental instability is not an organism-wide property.https://peerj.com/articles/3359.pdfBirth defectsFluctuating asymmetryVertebral column shiftsPatterning deffectsDevelopmental instabilityMarker |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Clara M.A. ten Broek Jessica Bots Marianna Bugiani Frietson Galis Stefan Van Dongen |
spellingShingle |
Clara M.A. ten Broek Jessica Bots Marianna Bugiani Frietson Galis Stefan Van Dongen No relationship between vertebral column shifts and limb fluctuating asymmetry in human foetuses PeerJ Birth defects Fluctuating asymmetry Vertebral column shifts Patterning deffects Developmental instability Marker |
author_facet |
Clara M.A. ten Broek Jessica Bots Marianna Bugiani Frietson Galis Stefan Van Dongen |
author_sort |
Clara M.A. ten Broek |
title |
No relationship between vertebral column shifts and limb fluctuating asymmetry in human foetuses |
title_short |
No relationship between vertebral column shifts and limb fluctuating asymmetry in human foetuses |
title_full |
No relationship between vertebral column shifts and limb fluctuating asymmetry in human foetuses |
title_fullStr |
No relationship between vertebral column shifts and limb fluctuating asymmetry in human foetuses |
title_full_unstemmed |
No relationship between vertebral column shifts and limb fluctuating asymmetry in human foetuses |
title_sort |
no relationship between vertebral column shifts and limb fluctuating asymmetry in human foetuses |
publisher |
PeerJ Inc. |
series |
PeerJ |
issn |
2167-8359 |
publishDate |
2017-06-01 |
description |
Disturbance from the normal developmental trajectory of a trait during growth—the so-called developmental instability—can be observed morphologically through phenodeviants and subtle deviations from perfect symmetry (fluctuating asymmetry). This study investigates the relationship between phenodeviance in the human vertebral column (as a result of axial patterning defects) and limb fluctuating asymmetry. Since both types of markers of developmental instability have been found associated with congenital abnormalities in humans, we anticipate a relationship between them if the concept of developmental instability, measured through either phenodeviants or asymmetry, would reflect an organism-wide process. Yet we did not find any support for this hypothesis. We argue that the vast differences in the developmental processes involved in both systems renders these two markers of developmental instability unrelated, in spite of their associations with other congenital abnormalities. Our results thus contribute to the growing awareness that developmental instability is not an organism-wide property. |
topic |
Birth defects Fluctuating asymmetry Vertebral column shifts Patterning deffects Developmental instability Marker |
url |
https://peerj.com/articles/3359.pdf |
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