Trojan Genes and Transparent Genomes: Sexual Selection, Regulatory Evolution and the Real Hopeful Monsters

Potential impacts of genetically modified (GM) animals in natural environments are explored in a framework of regulatory evolution. Transgenic growth hormone animals express remarkable alterations and plasticity in development, physiology and behavior in response to environmental factors (nutrition, temperature, photoperiod), suggesting that standard laboratory assessments are likely to underestimate their evolutionary potential. Sexual …