Development and the genetics of evolutionary change within insect species

Changes in genes and in developmental processes generate the phenotypic variation that is sorted by natural selection in adaptive evolution. We review several case studies in which artificial selection experiments in insects have led to divergent morphologies, and where further work has revealed information about the underlying changes at both the genetic and developmental levels. In addition, we examine several studies of phenotypic plasticity where multidisciplinary approaches are also beginning to reveal more about how developmental processes are modulated. Such integrated research will lead to a richer understanding of the changes in development that occur during evolutionary responses to natural selection, and it will also more rigorously examine how developmental processes can influence the tempo and direction of evolutionary change.