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Why do the best-known examples of evolutionary change involve the alteration of one kind of animal into another very similar one, like the evolution of a bigger beak in a bird? Wouldn't it be much more interesting to understand how beaks originated? Most people would agree, but until recently we didn't know much about such origins. That is now changing, with the growth of the interdisciplinary field evo-devo, which deals with the relationship between how embryos develop in the short term and how they (and the adults they grow into) evolve in the long term. One of the key questions is: can the origins of structures such as beaks, eyes, and shells be explained within a Darwinian framework? The answer seems to be yes, but only by expanding that framework. This book discusses the required expansion, and the current state of play regarding our understanding of evolutionary and developmental origins.
List of contents
Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. What is evo-devo and why is it important?; 2. Antecedents of evo-devo; 3. Evolutionary and developmental essentials; 4. Evo-devo essentials; 5. The evolution of variations on a theme; 6. The evolutionary origins of themes and novelties; 7. The evolutionary origins of body plans; 8. Body plan features and toolkit genes; 9. Bringing it all together; Concluding remarks; Summary of common misunderstandings; References; Index.
About the author
Wallace Arthur was one of the founders of the interdisciplinary field of evo-devo (evolutionary developmental biology) in the 1980s. He was a founding editor of the journal Evolution and Development. His interests are focused on the evolutionary origins of novel types of animal, and how these origins may differ from 'routine evolution'.
Summary
A brief and accessible account of evolutionary developmental biology, 'evo-devo', for anyone intrigued by this exciting interdisciplinary field, including biological science students and general readers. It covers all key themes, including: developmental bias, toolkit genes, gene co-option, and the origins of evolutionary novelties and body plans.
