Evolution and development: some insights from evolutionary theory

Abstract

Developmental biology and evolutionary biology are both mature integrative disciplines which started in the 19 th century and then followed parallel and independent scientific pathways. Recently, a genetical component has stepped into both disciplines (developmental genetics and evolutionary genetics) pointing out the need for future convergent maturation. Indeed, the Evo-Devo approach is becoming popular among developmental biologists, based on the facts that distant groups share a common ancestry, that precise phylogenies can be worked out and that homologous genes often play similar roles during the development of very different organisms.In this essay, I try to show that the real future of Evo-Devo thinking is still broader. The evolutionary theory is a set of diverse concepts which can and should be used in any biological field. Evolutionary thinking trains to ask « why » questions and to provide logical and plausible answers. It can shed some light on a diversity of general problems such as how to distinguish homologies from analogies, the costs and benefits of multicellularity, the origin of novel structures (e.g. the head), or the evolution of sexual reproduction. In the next decade, we may expect a progressive convergence between developmental genetics and quantitative genetics.

Hereditary Dentin Defects

“…The emergence of multicellular animals from singlecelled organisms is associated with the expansion and enhancement of cell-signaling pathways, which include growth factors and receptors capable of transmembrane signal transduction, and homeotic transcription regulatory systems that mediate cell differentiation (David, 2001;Kaiser, 2001). Multicellularity requires strengthening of the linkages that bind cells together, and the construction of extracellular matrices (ECM) to provide structural integrity and to act as a substrate for cell adhesion, migration, and growth.…”

Recommendations and Goals for Evo-Devo Research

“…Ultimately, all attributes of organisms may become subsumed under an evolutionary understanding, even including biogeography, ecology, population biology, physiology, anatomy, and macromolecular structural biology (David 2001).…”