What Are Heterochronic Mutations?

Heterochronic refers to the development of cells or tissues at an abnormal time relative to other unaffected events in an organism; the latter can thus serve as temporal landmarks. Mutations in heterochronic genes cause certain cells to adopt cell fates normally associated with earlier or later times in development.

What is the result when heterochronic genes are mutated?

Mutations in the heterochronic genes cause temporal transformations in cell fates so that cells express developmental programs normally specific for cells at a different larval stage (Ambros and Horvitz 1984).

What is an example of Heterochrony?

Heterochrony is a change in the timing of developmental events. For example, a change in timing might slow down the development of the body, but not alter the maturation of the reproductive system. This change yields an adult organism with a form similar to the ancestral juvenile form.