Cross-species comparative analysis of developmental gene-regulatory networks; explains how morphological diversity evolves through changes in developmental programs. Distinct from devo-bio (mechanistic embryology) and evolution-mechanisms…
Evolutionary Developmental Biology
Hox cluster collinearity (Lewis-Akam)
Lewis 1978 / Duboule-Dollé 1989: Hox-gene cluster shows spatial-temporal collinearity — the order of genes along the cluster matches order…
Carroll toolkit-of-development
Carroll 2005 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful': all bilaterian animals share a small ~500-gene developmental toolkit (Hox, Pax, Dlx, Otx, Wnt,…
Deep homology (Shubin-Tabin-Carroll)
Shubin-Tabin-Carroll 1997/2009: structures with apparently independent evolutionary origin (insect wing vs vertebrate limb; arthropod eye…
Modularity and evolvability (Wagner)
Wagner 1996/2005: developmental systems decompose into quasi-autonomous modules with strong within-module and weak between-module coupling.…
Cis-regulatory element evolution (Stern-Wittkopp)
Stern 2000 / Wittkopp 2004: phenotypic evolution preferentially occurs via cis-regulatory rather than coding changes (the 'cis-regulatory…
Heterochrony (de Beer-Gould)
de Beer 1930 / Gould 1977 'Ontogeny and Phylogeny': evolution by changes in developmental rate or timing relative to ancestral pattern. …
Phenotypic plasticity (norm-of-reaction)
Schmalhausen 1949 / West-Eberhard 2003: same genotype produces different phenotypes across environments (norm-of-reaction); plasticity…
Waddington genetic assimilation
Waddington 1953: environmentally-induced phenotype (Drosophila bithorax under ether shock) becomes constitutively expressed after selection…
Threshold traits (Roff-Falconer liability model)
Roff 1996 / Falconer 1989: discontinuous traits (winged/wingless, sexual/asexual) determined by underlying continuous liability X with…
Evolutionary novelty key innovations (Müller-Wagner)
Müller-Wagner 1991: 'novelty' = qualitatively new homologue not present in ancestor (e.g. turtle shell, insect wing, vertebrate jaw). …
Co-option of genetic circuits (True-Carroll)
True-Carroll 2002: pre-existing developmental gene circuits redeployed in new contexts to generate novel structures. Eye-spot pattern in…
Pleiotropy & developmental constraint (Fisher-Olson-Miller)
Fisher 1930 geometric model + Olson-Miller 1958 morphological-integration: pleiotropy creates covariation among traits sharing…
Hox clusters (McGinnis 1984)
McGinnis-Levine 1984 Drosophila + vertebrate Hox; modern colinearity + evolutionary-conservation 600 My.
Toolkit (Carroll 2005)
S Carroll 2005 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful'; deeply-conserved developmental-toolkit; cis-regulatory-evolution drives morphological…
Eye evolution (Gehring 1996)
W Gehring 1996 Pax6 master-regulator + eye-evo from common ancestor; modern Land-Nilsson 2002 multiple-eye-evolution syntheses.
Body plans (Davidson-Erwin 2009)
Davidson-Erwin 2009 gene-regulatory-networks for body plans; modern Cambrian explosion molecular-developmental basis.
Phylotypic stage (Richardson 1997)
M Richardson 1997 + Domazet-Loso 2010 hourglass-model molecular evidence for embryonic phylotypic-stage conservation.
Evo-devo synthesis (Gilbert 1996)
S Gilbert 1996 'Resynthesizing evolutionary biology'; modern textbook integration; basis of comparative-developmental-biology.