11th Symposium: Have traits evolved to function the way they do because of a past advantage?

In the eyes of the selectivist, the function of organisms stems from the selective advantage of their evolution, that is, biological evolution is dominated by natural selection. When confronted with the origin of entirely new traits, the selectivists offer a preadaptation explanation based on the assumption of continuity. However, structuralists believe that the selectivist interpretation of the origin of function is often one-sided and narrow, and evolution should be considered from the perspective of biological integrity. Therefore, it can be found that most traits are only byproducts of the constraints of other traits, namely, spandrel. In this process, developmental heterochronism plays a decisive role, and small mutations acting on closely related traits can bring about large phenotypic variations, which also explains the intermittent equilibrium phenomenon prevalent in fossil evidence. evo-devo defines phenotypic homology based on structural similarities in developmental regulatory networks, and points out that the novel trait is an unprecedented new structure derived from innovation in developmental regulatory mechanisms, rather than the acquisition of new functions by old structures during adaptive evolution. At the eleventh symposium "Have traits evolved to function the way they do because of a past advantage?" Zhongyi Sun, Chentao Yang and Yang Qian will discuss the relevant views.