The Shape of Life : Genes, Development, and the Evolution of Animal Form / Rudolf A. Raff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Raff, Rudolf A., Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evolutionary genetics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (545 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, [2012]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Rudolf Raff is recognized as a pioneer in evolutionary developmental biology. In their 1983 book, Embryos, Genes, and Evolution, Raff and co-author Thomas Kaufman proposed a synthesis of developmental and evolutionary biology. In The Shape of Life, Raff analyzes the rise of this new experimental discipline and lays out new research questions, hypotheses, and approaches to guide its development. Raff uses the evolution of animal body plans to exemplify the interplay between developmental mechanisms and evolutionary patterns. Animal body plans emerged half a billion years ago. Evolution within these body plans during this span of time has resulted in the tremendous diversity of living animal forms. Raff argues for an integrated approach to the study of the intertwined roles of development and evolution involving phylogenetic, comparative, and functional biology. This new synthesis will interest not only scientists working in these areas, but also paleontologists, zoologists, morphologists, molecular biologists, and geneticists.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Over the Ice for Ontogeny and Phylogeny

2. Metazoan Phyla and Body Plans

3. Deep Time and Metazoan Origins

4. Molecular Phylogeny: Dissecting the Metazoan Radiation

5. Recovering Data from the Past

6. The Developmental Basis of Body Plans

7. Building Similar Animals in Different Ways

8. It's Not All Heterochrony

9. Developmental Constraints

10. Modularity, Dissociation, and Co-option

11. Opportunistic Genomes

12. Evolving New Body Plans

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 435-491) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9780226256573

022625657X

OCLC:

896824991