  How specific environmental contexts contribute to the robustness and
variation of developmental trajectories and evolutionary transitions is a
central point in Eco-Evo-Devo. However, the articulation of ecological,
evolutionary and developmental processes into integrative frameworks has been
elusive, partly because standard experimental designs neglect or oversimplify
ecologically meaningful contexts. Microbial models are useful to expose and
discuss two possible sources of bias associated with gene-centered experimental
designs: the use of laboratory strains and laboratory environmental conditions.
We illustrate our point by showing how contrasting developmental phenotypes in
Myxococcus xanthus depend on the joint variation of temperature and substrate
stiffness. Microorganismal development can provide key information for better
understanding the role of environmental conditions in the evolution of
developmental variation, and to overcome some of the limitations associated
with current experimental approaches.
