History

of Life on Earth part II

Campbell Chapter 25
Developmental Genes
Developmental Genes: curious mutants
Heterochrony: rate
Heterochrony: timing
Developmental Genes & Heterochrony
Developmental genes control the rate, timing, and spatial pattern of
changes in organisms form as it develops into adult.
Mutations to some of these genes (or their control regions) can cause dramatic
changes in morphology e.g. flies with two pairs of wings instead of one or legs
instead of antennae.
Heterochrony- evolutionary change in rate or timing of developmental
events
Can have significant impact on body shape
Contrasting shapes of human and chimpanzee skulls result of small changes in
relative growth rates
Heterochrony can also alter timing of reproductive development relative to
development of nonreproductive organs
In paedomorphosis, rate of reproductive development accelerates compared with
somatic development
Changes in Spatial Patterns
Changes in Spatial Patterns
Substantial evolutionary change can result from alterations in genes
controlling placement and organization of body parts
Homeotic genes determine basic features as where wings and legs
will develop on bird or how flowers parts arranged
Hox genes are class of homeotic genes providing positional
information during development
If Hox genes expressed in wrong location, body parts produced in
wrong location
Evolution of Development: change in genes
Evolution of Development: change in genes
Evolution of Development

Marine adult

Pitx 1 gene is expressed

Freshwater adult

Pitx 1 gene is not expressed

Evolution of Development
Changes in developmental genes can result in new morphological
forms
Possible mechanism for evolution of six-legged insects from many-
legged crustacean ancestor demonstrated in lab experiments.
Specific changes in Ubx gene have been identified that turn off leg
development
Changes in morphology can result from changes in regulation of
developmental genes rather than changes in sequence of
developmental genes
Threespine sticklebacks in lakes have fewer spines than their
marine relatives
Gene sequence remains same, but regulation of gene expression is
different in two groups of fish
Diversity is not so much a matter of complement of genes in an animals tool kit, but, in
the words of Eric Clapton, it is the way you use it.
- Sean Carroll, Endless Forms Most Beautiful