Evolving Pathways: Key Themes in Evolutionary Developmental Biology

✍ Scribed by Giuseppe Fusco

• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 446
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Evolutionary developmental biology, or 'evo-devo', is the study of the relationship between evolution and development. Dealing specifically with the generative mechanisms of organismal form, evo-devo goes straight to the core of the developmental origin of variation, the raw material on which natural selection (and random drift) can work. Evolving Pathways responds to the growing volume of data in this field, and its potential to answer fundamental questions in biology, by bringing together contributions that represent a diversity of approaches. Topics range from developmental genetics to comparative morphology of animals and plants alike, and also include botany and palaeontology, two disciplines for which the potential to be examined from an evo-devo perspective has largely been ignored until now. Researchers and graduate students will find this book a valuable overview of current research as we begin to fill a major gap in our perception of evolutionary change.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Contributors......Page 11
Preface......Page 15
Introduction: Pathways of change......Page 17
Part I Thinking about evolution by taking development on board......Page 21
CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS......Page 25
THE QUESTIONS OF EVO-DEVO......Page 28
How did development originate?......Page 29
How did the developmental repertoire evolve?......Page 30
Does development play a role in phenotypic variation?......Page 31
Does development affect the organisation of the phenotype?......Page 32
How does the environment interact with development and evolution?......Page 33
The epigenetic and experimental program......Page 34
The evolutionary developmental genetics program......Page 36
The theoretical biology program......Page 37
THE IMPACT OF EVO-DEVO ON EVOLUTIONARY THEORY......Page 39
REFERENCES......Page 42
2 Making evolutionary predictions about the structure of development and morphology: beyond the neo-Darwinian and constraints paradigms......Page 51
THE NEO-DARWINIAN APPROACH TO MORPHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION......Page 53
THE CONSTRAINT SCHOOL......Page 56
THE DEVELOPMENTAL GENETICS SCHOOL......Page 57
THE EVOLUTION OF DEVELOPMENT......Page 60
MORPHODYNAMIC MECHANISMS VERSUS POSITIONAL INFORMATION......Page 62
CONCLUDING REMARKS......Page 66
REFERENCES......Page 67
MAGNITUDES OF CHANGE......Page 70
TYPES OF CHANGE......Page 72
TIMING OF CHANGE......Page 73
DISCUSSION......Page 78
REFERENCES......Page 79
4 Prospects of evo-devo for linking pattern and process in the evolution of morphospace......Page 82
EYE SPOTS MATTER......Page 84
Serial repeats and artificial selection experiments on eyespots......Page 88
The evolution of allometry involving wings......Page 92
Interactions between morphologies and life histories: the roles of hormones......Page 93
DEVELOPMEN T AND THE FUNCTIONAL PHENOTYPE......Page 94
PERSPECTIVES AND FUTURE CHALLENGES......Page 96
REFERENCES......Page 97
5 The molecular biology underlying developmental evolution......Page 100
MOLECUL ARBIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY: HISTORICAL LINKS......Page 101
THE RISE OF POST-TRANS CRIPTIONAL GENE REGULATION......Page 104
THE MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF GENE REGULATION: APOSTGENOMIC VIEW......Page 106
EPILOGUE: THE PHILOSOPHY OF GENE REGULATION AND THE FUTURE OF THE EVO-DEVO FIELD......Page 113
REFERENCES......Page 116
EVO-DEVO’S IDENTITY......Page 120
GENERALITY AND UNIQUENESS INSCIENCE : NOMOTHETICS AND IDIOGRAPHICS......Page 121
EVO-DEVO’S NOMOTHETIC ASPECTS......Page 125
The explanatory range of evo-devo’s nomothetic components......Page 126
MODEL BIAS EQUALS MODEL STRENGTH......Page 129
Body plans and developmental types aren’t what they seem......Page 131
The heuristic value of developmental types......Page 133
CONCLUSION : FROM MODEL ORGANISMS TO DEVELOPMEN TAL TYPES......Page 134
REFERENCES......Page 135
Part II Evo-devo: methods and materials......Page 141
7 A pragmatic approach for selecting evo-devo model species in amniotes......Page 143
MEDICINE -DRIVEN MODELS ( SEARCHING FOR EVOLUTIONARY CONSERVATION) V S. EVO-DEVO- DRIVEN MODELS (UNDERS TANDING EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE)......Page 144
CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING NEW MODE SPECIES......Page 145
REPTILIA......Page 147
Testudines......Page 148
Snakes......Page 150
Crocodylomorpha......Page 151
Aves......Page 152
Marsupialia......Page 153
Afrotheria......Page 154
Xenarthra......Page 155
Euarchontoglires......Page 156
Laurasiatheria......Page 157
REFERENCES......Page 159
8 On comparisons and causes in evolutionary developmental biology1......Page 164
CAUSATION......Page 165
DEVELOPMENTAL STEPS......Page 167
THE EXPERIMEN TAL MODEL-ORGANISM APPROACH......Page 169
THE DESCRIPTIVE COMPARATIVE APPROACH......Page 172
THE EXPERIMENTAL COMPARATIVE APPROACH......Page 174
DIFFERENCES AND CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN EXPERIMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT......Page 176
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 177
REFERENCES......Page 178
9 Evolution and development: towards a synthesis of macro- and micro-evolution with ecology......Page 180
THE SYSTEM: VULVA FORMATION IN THE NEMATODE CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS......Page 181
A SATELLITE ORGANISM IN EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY: THE NEMATODE PRIST IONCHUS PACIFICUS......Page 183
MACRO- EVOLUTION : VULVA FORMATION DIFFERS STRONGLY BETWEEN P . PACIFICUS AND C . ELEGANS......Page 184
ECOLOGY......Page 188
MICRO-EVOLUTION......Page 189
CONCLUSIONS......Page 191
REFERENCES......Page 192
CONVENTIONS......Page 195
PROBLEMS, AND SOME SOLUTIONS......Page 199
HOX- LIKE AND NK- LIKE SUBCLASSES: ARE THE NAMES MISLEADING?......Page 202
THE ANCESTRA L MEGA-HOMEOBOX CLUSTER : FACT OR FICTION, AND HOW WILL WE KNOW?......Page 203
AN ALTERNATIVE : HOX- LINKED AND NK- LINKED......Page 207
SO WHAT IS A HOX GENE ?......Page 209
REFERNCES......Page 210
INTRODUCTION......Page 214
Continuum model......Page 215
MULTICELLULAR PLANTS HAVING IDENTITY CRISES ON VARIOUS LEVELS......Page 216
Meristem identity crisis......Page 217
Floral organ identity crises......Page 218
Leaf identity crisis: leaf–shoot indistinction......Page 221
Stipule identity crisis: stipule–leaf indistinction......Page 223
Stem identity crisis......Page 224
Root identity crisis: root–shoot indistinction......Page 226
REFERENCES......Page 229
Part III Evolving diversity......Page 235
SETTING THE PROBLEM......Page 237
TRACKING DOWN THE EARLIEST EXTANT BILATERIANS: A SIMPLE OR A COMPLEX LAST COMMON ANCESTOR (LCA)?......Page 238
THE ACOELOMORPHA, A LIKELY CANDIDATE FOR THE EARLIEST BRANCHING EXTANT BILATERIANS......Page 242
Nuclear genes......Page 243
Hox cluster genes......Page 245
MicroRNA (miRNA) sets......Page 246
GENE EXPRESSION AND AXIAL HOMOLOGIES BETWEEN CNIDARIANS AND BILATERIANS......Page 248
THE PLANULA–ACOELOID THEORY REVISITED WITH A CRITIQUE TO AMPHISTOMIC SCENARIOS OF BILATERIAN EVOLUTION......Page 251
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 254
REFERENCES......Page 255
TO SET THE SCENE: THE HOX EXPLOSION......Page 259
THE HOMEO DOMAIN PROTEIN AS A TRANSPOSASE......Page 264
POSSIBLE TRANSPOSITION EVENTS IN THE HOX COMPLEX IN THE DROSOPHILIDAE LINEAGE......Page 269
IMPLICATIONS OF THIS HYPOTHESIS: A SCENARIO FOR THE ORIGIN AND EARLY EVOLUTION OF BILATERIAN HOX COMPLEXES......Page 272
REFERENCES......Page 277
14 Many roads lead to Rome: different ways to construct a nematode......Page 281
NEMATODE PHYLOGENY......Page 282
CAENORHABDITISELEGANS EMBRYOGENESIS: THE REFERENCE SYSTEM......Page 283
MODE OF REPRODUCTION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRIMARY EMBRYONIC AXIS......Page 285
VARIATIONS IN EARLY LINE AGE AND PATTERN FORMATION......Page 287
Acrobeloides: an example for early embryonic plasticity......Page 288
Romanomermis: visible cytoplasmic segregation and different fate assignments......Page 289
Tobrilus: a nematode with unusual gastrulation......Page 291
CONCLUDING REMARKS......Page 295
REFERENCES......Page 297
15 Basal euarthropod development: a fossil-based perspective......Page 301
TRILOBITE STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT......Page 302
THE NUMBER AND GENERATION OF TRUNKS EGMENTS......Page 304
ARTICULATIONS BEWEEN TRUNK SEGMENTS......Page 305
THE FORM OF TRUNK SEGMENTS......Page 307
DIVERSITY IN THE SEGMENTATION PROCESS AMONG TRILOBITES......Page 308
DEVELOPMENTAL PATTERNS AMONG ‘ORSTEN ’ ARTHROPODS......Page 311
TRILOBITE AND ‘ORSTEN’ ARTHROPOD DEVELOPMENT COMPARED, AND THAT OF OTHER ARTHROPODS......Page 315
REFERENCES......Page 316
FROM HAPLOID TO DIPLOID......Page 319
GROWING FROM THE TOP......Page 322
BRANCHING OUT......Page 323
VASCULAR HIGHWAYS......Page 325
DIGGING DEEP......Page 326
HARVESTING ENERGY......Page 328
REPRODUCTIVE TRANSITION......Page 329
FUTURE CHALLENGES......Page 330
REFERENCES......Page 331
Part IV Evolving body features......Page 337
17 Urbisexuality: the evolution of bilaterian germ cell speci.cation and reproductive systems......Page 341
The germ line......Page 342
Fertilisation strategies......Page 344
COMPARATIVE DATA ON SOMATIC GONAD SPECIFICATION......Page 345
COMPARATIVE DATA ON GERM- CELL SPECIFICATION......Page 348
Specification and origin of extant metazoan PGCs: epigenesis and preformation......Page 349
A stem-cell origin of urbilaterian PGCs......Page 352
Convergent evolution of preformation......Page 354
Evolving preformation from epigenesis: a transitional model......Page 356
CONCLUSIONS......Page 358
REFERENCES......Page 359
18 Thoughts and speculations on the ancestral arthropod segmentation pathway......Page 363
WAYS OF MAKING SEGMENTS......Page 365
SETTING UP AN ANTERIOR– POSTERIOR AXIS......Page 366
AXIAL ELONGATION......Page 367
GENERATING A REPEATED PATTERN......Page 368
TRANSLATING A REPEATED PATTERN IN TO SEGMENTS......Page 370
WHAT ABOUT GAP GENES?......Page 371
RECONSTRUCTING THE ANCESTOR......Page 372
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 375
REFERENCES......Page 376
19 Evolution of neurogenesis in arthropods......Page 379
Individual stem-cell-like neuroblasts are formed in the ventral neuroectoderm of insects and crustaceans......Page 380
Groups of neural precursors are recruited from the ventral neuroectoderm of chelicerates and myriapods......Page 382
Differences in the timing of neural precursor formation in individual chelicerate and myriapod species......Page 384
Neural stem cells comparable to insect and crustacean neuroblasts are missing in chelicerates and myriapods......Page 385
The morphological processes of neural precursor formation......Page 387
Proneural and neurogenic genes are essential for the specification of neuroblasts......Page 388
The function of achaete-scute homologues in neural precursor specification seems to be conserved in chelicerates and myriapods......Page 390
Neurogenic genes mediate lateral inhibition in chelicerates and myriapods......Page 391
Pan-neural genes switch on a common neural programme......Page 393
Generation of neural precursor diversity......Page 394
THE ANCESTRAL PATTERN OF NEUROGENESIS IN ARTHROPODS......Page 396
REFERENCES......Page 398
20 Arthropod appendages: a prime example for the evolution of morphological diversity and innovation......Page 401
THE SEARCH FOR THE GROUND- STATE APPENDAGE......Page 402
FROM GROUND STATE TO DIVERSITY: IN SIGHTS FROM DROSOPHILA......Page 404
FROM DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER TO MILLIONS OF ARTHROPOD SPECIES......Page 408
A KIND OF PHYLOTYPIC STAGE FOR THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ARTHROPOD APPENDAGE?......Page 413
REFERENCES......Page 414
CLEAVAGE PATTERNS AND CELL LNEAGE......Page 419
Apical ganglion......Page 423
Cerebral ganglia......Page 425
Ventral nerves......Page 428
HOX GENE EXPRESSION......Page 430
CONCLUSIONS......Page 431
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 432
REFERENCES......Page 433
Index......Page 437