In biology, constructive development refers to the hypothesis that organisms shape their own developmental trajectory by constantly responding to, and causing, changes in both their internal state and their external environment.
Constructive development may be important to evolution because it enables organisms to produce functional phenotypes in response to genetic or environmental perturbation, and thereby contributes to adaptation and diversification.
[6][9] Organisms inherit (i.e., receive from their predecessors) a diverse set of developmental resources, including DNA, epigenetic marks, organelles, enzymes, hormones, antibodies, transcription factors, symbionts, socially transmitted knowledge and environmental conditions modified by parents.
[4] Whilst the genetic influence on development is fundamental, causation does not only occur from the bottom up, but also flows ‘downwards’[12] from more complex levels of organismal organization (e.g., tissue-specific regulation of gene expression).
Constructive development is manifest in context-dependent gene expression, physical properties of cells and tissues, exploratory behavior of physiological systems and learning.
These diverse cell shapes, behaviors and functions are created and maintained by tissue-specific gene expression patterns and these can be modified by internal and external environmental conditions.
[18] By contrast, the constructive development perspective views the genome as a sub-system of the cell shaped by evolution to detect and respond to the signals it receives.
Mary Jane West-Eberhard famously suggested that responses to the environment can be the starting point for evolutionary change,[20] termed ‘plasticity-led evolution’.