ReviewJournal of experimental zoology. Part B, Molecular and developmental evolution2022
Theories, laws, and models in evo-devo.
Review in Journal of experimental zoology. Part B, Molecular and developmental evolution, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- A detailed redescription of a skeletally immature 'Redondasaurus' suggests ontogenetic transformations in the taxon mirror phytosaurian morphological evolution.Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) · 2026Article
- The importance of integrating evolutionary-developmental perspectives into One Health approaches.Bioscience · 2026Article
- Introducing the EpGEpigenomes · 2025Article
- The Interplay of Ontogeny and Phylogeny at the Transcriptome Level of the Tetrapod Heart.Journal of experimental zoology. Part B, Molecular and developmental evolution · 2025Article
- Enigmatic Nodal and Lefty gene repertoire discrepancy: Latent evolutionary history revealed by vertebrate-wide phylogeny.Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists · 2025Review
- Unraveling developmental gene regulation in holometabolous insects through comparative transcriptomics and proteomics.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Colour pattern studies: the SE (せ) method, a shape-centred approach to explore biodiversity and avoid aesthetic biases.Quantitative plant biology · 2025Review
- Goldfish phenomics reveals commonalities and a lack of universality in the domestication process for ornamentation.Evolution letters · 2024Article
- A transcriptomic hourglass in brown algae.Nature · 2024Article
- Parasitic fish embryos do a "front-flip" on the yolk to resist expulsion from the host.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Divergent Pattern of Development in Rats and Humans.Neurotoxicity research · 2023Article
- Expression Pattern ofGenes · 2022Article
- Discrete embryonic character variation uncovers hidden ecological adaptations in lacertid lizards.Development, growth & differentiation · 2022Article
- Theories, laws, and models in evo-devo.Journal of experimental zoology. Part B, Molecular and developmental evolution · 2022Review
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Abstract
Evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) is the study of the evolution of developmental mechanisms. Here, I review some of the theories, models, and laws in evo-devo, past and present. Nineteenth-century evo-devo was dominated by recapitulation theory and archetypes. It also gave us germ layer theory, the vertebral theory of the skull, floral organs as modified leaves, and the "inverted invertebrate" theory, among others. Newer theories and models include the frameshift theory, the genetic toolkit for development, the ABC model of flower development, the developmental hourglass, the zootype, Urbilateria, and the hox code. Some of these new theories show the influence of archetypes and recapitulation. Interestingly, recent studies support the old "primordial leaf," "inverted invertebrate," and "segmented head" theories. Furthermore, von Baer's first three laws may now need to be rehabilitated, and the hourglass model modified, in view of what Abzhanov has pointed out about the maternal-zygotic transition. There are many supposed "laws" of evo-devo but I argue that these are merely generalizations about trends in particular lineages. I argue that the "body plan" is an archetype, and is often used in such a way that it lacks any scientific meaning. Looking to the future, one challenge for evo-devo will be to develop new theories and models to accommodate the wealth of new data from high-throughput sequencing, including single-cell sequencing. One step in this direction is the use of sophisticated in silico analyses, as in the "transcriptomic hourglass" models.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.