BIOL 1911 Chapter Notes - Chapter 25: Body Plan, Cambrian Explosion, Gene Duplication
24 Mar 2018
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25. 5 major changes in body form can result from changes in the sequences and regulation of developmental genes. Objective: understand the intrinsic biological mechanisms that underlie changes seen in the fossil record by turning to genetic mechanisms of change, especially to genes that influence development. Evo-devo research at the interface between evolutionary biology and developmental biology. Evo-devo is illuminating how slight genetic differences can produce morphological differences between species. Genes that alter rate, timing, and spatial pattern of change in an organism"s form as it develops from zygote into an adult can cause large morphological differences. Substantial evolutionary change can also result from alterations in gene that control the spatial organization of body parts. Homeotic genes master regulatory genes that determine basic features such as where a pair of wings and legs will develop on a bird or how a plant"s flower parts are arranged.
