Illuminating the processes and patterns that link genotype to phenotype, epigenetics seeks to explain features, characters, and developmental mechanisms that can only be understood in terms of interactions that arise above the level of the gene. With chapters written by leading authorities, this volume offers a broad integrative survey of epigenetics. Approaching this complex subject from a variety of perspectives, it presents a broad, historically grounded view that demonstrates the utility of this approach for understanding complex biological systems in development, disease, and evolution. Chapters cover such topics as morphogenesis and organ formation, conceptual foundations, and cell differentiation, and together demonstrate that the integration of epigenetics into mainstream developmental biology is essential for answering fundamental questions about how phenotypic traits are produced. “Eloquent, comprehensive, and insightful.” -- Marcelo R. Sanchez-Villagra ― Evolution & Development Published On: 2011-11-01 " Epigenetics will go a long way towards making the reader re-evaluate any ideas that the evolution of variation is purely due to small genetic change." -- Brian Livingstone ― Linnean Society Biological Journal Published On: 2012-11-01 "This book is an invaluable contribution for understanding the intricacies of evolutionary processes as well as for devising interventional approaches to enhance healthy life span in humans." -- Diddahally R Govindaraju ― Evolution: Education and Outreach Published On: 2015-02-04 If you want to understand evolution, you need to understand the murky world of epigenetics. A hearty congratulations should be paid to Hallgrimsson and Hall, who provide reliable and steady illumination. -Bernard Wood, Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology, George Washington University “If you want to understand evolution, you need to understand the murky world of epigenetics. A hearty congratulations should be paid to Hallgrimsson and Hall, who provide reliable and steady illumination.”-Bernard Wood, Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology, George Washington University Benedikt Hallgrimsson, Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy at the University of Calgary, is coeditor of Variation: A Central Concept in Biology and of Advanced Imaging in Biology and Medicine: Technology, Software Environments, Applications. Brian K. Hall is University Research Professor Emeritus at Dalhousie University. His latest book is Evolution: Principles and Processes. Epigenetics Linking Genotype and Phenotype in Development and Evolution By Benedikt Hallgrímsson, Brian K. Hall UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Copyright © 2011 the Regents of the University of California All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-520-26709-1 Contents Contributors, vii, 1 • INTRODUCTION Benedikt Hallgrímsson and Brian K. Hall, 1, Part I • Historical and Philosophical Foundations, 2 • A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TERM AND CONCEPT EPIGENETICS Brian K. Hall, 9, 3 • HEURISTIC REDUCTIONISM AND THE RELATIVE SIGNIFICANCE OF EPIGENETIC INHERITANCE IN EVOLUTION James Griesemer, 14, Part II • Approaches to Epigenetics, 4 • THE EPIGENETICS OF GENOMIC IMPRINTING: CORE EPIGENETIC PROCESSES ARE CONSERVED IN MAMMALS, INSECTS, AND PLANTS Lori A. McEachern and Vett Lloyd, 43, 5 • METHYLATION MAPPING IN HUMANS Christoph Grunau, 70, 6 • ASEXUALITY AND EPIGENETIC VARIATION Root Gorelick, Manfred Laubichler, and Rachel Massicotte, 87, 7 • EPIGENESIS, PREFORMATION, AND THE HUMPTY DUMPTY PROBLEM Ellen W. Larsen and Joel Atallah, 103, 8 • A PRINCIPLE OF DEVELOPMENTAL INERTIA Alessandro Minelli, 116, Part III • Epigenetics of Vertebrate Organ Development, 9 • THE ROLE OF EPIGENETICS IN NERVOUS SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT Chris Kovach, Pierre Mattar, and Carol Schuurmans, 137, 10 • MORPHOGENESIS OF PIGMENT PATTERNS: EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELING APPROACHES Lennart Olsson, 164, 11 • EPIGENETIC INTERACTIONS OF THE CARDIAC NEURAL CREST Martha Alonzo, Kathleen K. Smith, and Margaret L. Kirby, 181, 12 • EPIGENETICS IN BONE AND CARTILAGE DEVELOPMENT Tamara A. Franz-Odendaal, 195, 13 • MUSCLE–BONE INTERACTIONS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SKELETAL PHENOTYPE: JAW MUSCLES AND THE SKULL Susan W. Herring, 221, 14 • EVOLUTION OF THE APICAL ECTODERM IN THE DEVELOPING VERTEBRATE LIMB Lisa Noelle Cooper, Brooke Autumn Armfield, and J. G. M. Thewissen, 238, 15 • ROLE OF SKELETAL MUSCLE IN THE EPIGENETIC SHAPING OF ORGANS, TISSUES, AND CELL FATE CHOICES Boris Kablar, 256, Part IV • Epigenetics in Evolution and Disease, 16 • EPIGENETIC INTEGRATION, COMPLEXITY, AND EVOLVABILITY OF THE HEAD: RETHINKING THE FUNCTIONAL MATRIX HYPOTHESIS Daniel E. Lieberman, 271, 17 • EPIGENETIC INTERACTIONS: THE DEVELOPMENTAL ROUTE TO FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION Miriam Leah Zelditch and Donald L. Swiderski, 290, 18 • EPIGENETIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO ADAPTIVE RADIATION: INSIGHTS FROM THREESPINE STICKLEBACK Susan A. Foster and Matthew A. Wund, 317