Meeting Abstract
Change in mechanisms that underlie robustness of a phenotype during development and function is a common route for phenotypic diversifications. The integration of hormones in deterministic networks of genes, proteins and enzymes can influence the robustness of these networks, but efficacy of hormonal regulation varies with structural properties of network elements. Here we first examine the relationship between dynamic and static properties of metabolic networks and their robustness. Second, using a metabolic network that produces carotenoid coloration in birds, we investigated the relative contribution of dynamic and static aspects of network to within- and among-population divergence in an avian species. This study sheds light on the role of hormonal control in the stability of the underlying deterministic network of a phenotype and establishes the functional mechanisms by which metabolic flux can affect evolutionary diversification.
