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Evolutionary developmental biology and morphology

Section edited by David Ferrier

This section considers studies in the evolution of development and developmental processes, and into morphological evolution.

Page 1 of 4

  1. How vascular systems and their respiratory pigments evolved is still debated. While many animals present a vascular system, hemoglobin exists as a blood pigment only in a few groups (vertebrates, annelids, a f...

    Authors: Solène Song, Viktor Starunov, Xavier Bailly, Christine Ruta, Pierre Kerner, Annemiek J. M. Cornelissen and Guillaume Balavoine

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:165

    Content type: Research article

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  2. Although Trapa is a well-defined genus of distinctive freshwater plants with accumulations of extensive morphological and embryological autapomorphies, its phylogenetic relationships have long been unclear. Forme...

    Authors: Ya Li, Yi-Ming Cui, Carole T. Gee, Xiao-Qing Liang and Cheng-Sen Li

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:150

    Content type: Research article

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  3. Leaves have highly diverse morphologies. However, with an evolutionary history of approximately 200 million years, leaves of the pine family are relatively monotonous and often collectively called “needles”, a...

    Authors: Hong Du, Jin-Hua Ran, Yuan-Yuan Feng and Xiao-Quan Wang

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:131

    Content type: Research article

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  4. The primordial eye field of the vertebrate embryo is a single entity of retinal progenitor cells spanning the anterior neural plate before bifurcating to form bilateral optic vesicles. Here we review fate mapp...

    Authors: R. G. Loosemore, S. D. Matthaei and T. C. Stanger

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:129

    Content type: Review

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  5. Nervous system development is an interplay of many processes: the formation of individual neurons, which depends on whole-body and local patterning processes, and the coordinated growth of neurites and synapse...

    Authors: Suman Kumar, Sharat Chandra Tumu, Conrad Helm and Harald Hausen

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:117

    Content type: Research article

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  6. In this study, we investigate species limits in the cyanobacterial lichen genus Rostania (Collemataceae, Peltigerales, Lecanoromycetes). Four molecular markers (mtSSU rDNA, β-tubulin, MCM7, RPB2) were sequenced a...

    Authors: Alica Košuthová, Johannes Bergsten, Martin Westberg and Mats Wedin

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:115

    Content type: Research article

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  7. Amber has been reported from the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation, as isolated clasts or within plant tissues. Undescribed cones of uncertain gymnosperm affinity have also been recovered with amber preserved i...

    Authors: Leyla J. Seyfullah, Emily A. Roberts, Alexander R. Schmidt, Eugenio Ragazzi, Ken B. Anderson, Daniel Rodrigues do Nascimento Jr., Wellington Ferreira da Silva Filho and Lutz Kunzmann

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:107

    Content type: Research article

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  8. Pseudogamy is a reproductive system in which females rely on the sperm of males to activate their oocytes, generally parasitizing males of other species, but do not use the sperm DNA. The nematode Mesorhabditis b...

    Authors: Caroline Launay, Marie-Anne Félix, Joris Dieng and Marie Delattre

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:105

    Content type: Research article

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  9. Adaptive radiations are characterized by extreme and/or iterative phenotypic divergence; however, such variation does not accumulate evenly across an organism. Instead, it is often partitioned into sub-units, ...

    Authors: Andrew J. Conith, Michael R. Kidd, Thomas D. Kocher and R. Craig Albertson

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:95

    Content type: Research article

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  10. Hypotrichia are a group with the most complex morphology and morphogenesis within the ciliated protists. The classification of Gastrostyla-like species, a taxonomically difficult group of hypotrichs with a common...

    Authors: Xiaoteng Lu, Yuanyuan Wang, Saleh A. Al-Farraj, Hamed El-Serehy, Jie Huang and Chen Shao

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:92

    Content type: Research article

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  11. Diverse architectures of nervous systems (NSs) such as a plexus in cnidarians or a more centralized nervous system (CNS) in insects and vertebrates are present across Metazoa, but it is unclear what selection ...

    Authors: A. Sur, A. Renfro, P. J. Bergmann and N. P. Meyer

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:84

    Content type: Research article

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  12. Fangs are a putative key innovation that revolutionized prey capture and feeding in snakes, and – along with their associated venom phenotypes – have made snakes perhaps the most medically-significant vertebra...

    Authors: Erin P. Westeen, Andrew M. Durso, Michael C. Grundler, Daniel L. Rabosky and Alison R. Davis Rabosky

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:80

    Content type: Research article

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  13. Metamorphosis remains one of the most complicated and poorly understood processes in insects. This is particularly so for the very dynamic transformations that take place within the pupal sheath of holometabol...

    Authors: Chenjing Zhao, Yuchen Ang, Mengqing Wang, Caixia Gao, Kuiyan Zhang, Chufei Tang, Xingyue Liu, Min Li, Ding Yang and Rudolf Meier

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:79

    Content type: Research article

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  14. Poecilogony, the presence of two developmental modes in the same animal species, is a rare phenomenon. Few cases of poecilogony have been suggested for marine invertebrates including molluscs and even less sto...

    Authors: Benedikt Wiggering, Marco T. Neiber, Katharina Gebauer and Matthias Glaubrecht

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:76

    Content type: Research article

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  15. The remarkable abilities of the human brain are distinctive features that set us apart from other animals. However, our understanding of how the brain has changed in the human lineage remains incomplete, but i...

    Authors: Ming-Li Li, Hui Tang, Yong Shao, Ming-Shan Wang, Hai-Bo Xu, Sheng Wang, David M. Irwin, Adeniyi C. Adeola, Tao Zeng, Luonan Chen, Yan Li and Dong-Dong Wu

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:72

    Content type: Research article

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  17. The Chengjiang biota is one of the most species-rich Cambrian Konservat-Lagerstätten, and preserves a community dominated by non-biomineralized euarthropods. However, several Chengjiang euarthropods have an un...

    Authors: Yu Liu, Javier Ortega-Hernández, Hong Chen, Huijuan Mai, Dayou Zhai and Xianguang Hou

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:62

    Content type: Research article

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  18. Tooth morphology within theropod dinosaurs has been extensively investigated and shows high disparity throughout the Cretaceous. Changes or diversification in feeding ecology, i.e., adoption of an herbivorous ...

    Authors: Zhiheng Li, Chun-Chieh Wang, Min Wang, Cheng-Cheng Chiang, Yan Wang, Xiaoting Zheng, E-Wen Huang, Kiko Hsiao and Zhonghe Zhou

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:46

    Content type: Research article

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  19. Evolutionary transitions in temporal niche necessitates specialized morphology, physiology, and behaviors. Diurnal, heliothermic squamates (lizards and snakes) that bask require protection from ultraviolet rad...

    Authors: Aaron H. Griffing, Tony Gamble and Aaron M. Bauer

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:40

    Content type: Research article

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  20. Bird plumage exhibits a diversity of colors that serve functional roles ranging from signaling to camouflage and thermoregulation. However, birds must maintain a balance between evolving colorful signals to at...

    Authors: Jon T. Merwin, Glenn F. Seeholzer and Brian Tilston Smith

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:32

    Content type: Research article

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  21. Temperature exerts a strong influence on protein evolution: species living in thermally distinct environments often exhibit adaptive differences in protein structure and function. However, previous research on...

    Authors: Ying-Chen Chao, Melanie Merritt, Devin Schaefferkoetter and Tyler G. Evans

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:28

    Content type: Research article

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  22. The evolution of the Jehol Biota of western Liaoning in China includes three phases, initiation in the Dabeigou phase, radiation in the Yixian phase, and decline in the Jiufotang phase. Numerous ephedroid macr...

    Authors: Yong Yang, Yingwei Wang and David Kay Ferguson

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2020 20:19

    Content type: Research article

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  23. Chondrichthyans represent a monophyletic group of crown group gnathostomes and are central to our understanding of vertebrate evolution. Like all vertebrates, cartilaginous fishes evolved concretions of materi...

    Authors: Lisa Schnetz, Cathrin Pfaff, Eugen Libowitzky, Zerina Johanson, Rica Stepanek and Jürgen Kriwet

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:238

    Content type: Research article

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  24. Palaeognathae is a basal clade within Aves and include the large and flightless ratites and the smaller, volant tinamous. Although much research has been conducted on various aspects of palaeognath morphology,...

    Authors: Phoebe L. McInerney, Michael S. Y. Lee, Alice M. Clement and Trevor H. Worthy

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:233

    Content type: Research article

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  25. Recently we proposed an evolutionary explanation for a spinal pathology that afflicts many people, intervertebral disc herniation (Plomp et al. [2015] BMC Evolutionary Biology 15, 68). Using 2D data, we found tha...

    Authors: Kimberly A. Plomp, Keith Dobney, Darlene A. Weston, Una Strand Viðarsdóttir and Mark Collard

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:226

    Content type: Research article

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  26. Many pathologies that modify the shell geometry and ornamentation of ammonoids are known from the fossil record. Since they may reflect the developmental response of the organism to a perturbation (usually a s...

    Authors: Romain Jattiot, Emmanuel Fara, Arnaud Brayard, Séverine Urdy and Nicolas Goudemand

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:210

    Content type: Research article

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  27. Two previous studies on interspecific body size variation of anurans found that the key drivers of variation are the species’ lifestyles and the environments that they live in. To examine whether those finding...

    Authors: Cheng Guo, Shuai Gao, Ali Krzton and Long Zhang

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:208

    Content type: Research article

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  28. Parasite attachment structures are critical traits that influence effective host exploitation and survival. Morphology of attachment structures can reinforce host specificity and niche specialisation, or even ...

    Authors: Charles Baillie, Rachel L. Welicky, Kerry A. Hadfield, Nico J. Smit, Stefano Mariani and Robin M. D. Beck

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:207

    Content type: Research Article

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  29. Tardigrada is a group of microscopic invertebrates distributed worldwide in permanent and temporal aquatic habitats. Famous for their extreme stress tolerance, tardigrades are also of interest due to their clo...

    Authors: Dennis Krog Persson, Kenneth Agerlin Halberg, Ricardo Cardoso Neves, Aslak Jørgensen, Reinhardt Møbjerg Kristensen and Nadja Møbjerg

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:206

    Content type: Research article

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  30. Odontocetes (toothed whales) are the most species-rich marine mammal lineage. The catalyst for their evolutionary success is echolocation - a form of biological sonar that uses high-frequency sound, produced i...

    Authors: Travis Park, Bastien Mennecart, Loïc Costeur, Camille Grohé and Natalie Cooper

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:195

    Content type: Research article

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  31. Hybridization has been widely practiced in plant and animal breeding as a means to enhance the quality and fitness of the organisms. In domestic equids, this hybrid vigor takes the form of improved physical an...

    Authors: Pauline Hanot, Anthony Herrel, Claude Guintard and Raphaël Cornette

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:188

    Content type: Research article

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  32. Understanding the mechanisms promoting or constraining morphological diversification within clades is a central topic in evolutionary biology. Ecological transitions are of particular interest because of their...

    Authors: Gabriele Sansalone, Paolo Colangelo, Anna Loy, Pasquale Raia, Stephen Wroe and Paolo Piras

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:179

    Content type: Research article

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  33. The annelid anterior central nervous system is often described to consist of a dorsal prostomial brain, consisting of several commissures and connected to the ventral ganglionic nerve cord via circumesophageal...

    Authors: Patrick Beckers, Conrad Helm and Thomas Bartolomaeus

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:173

    Content type: Research article

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  34. Little is known about the long-term patterns of body size evolution in Crocodylomorpha, the > 200-million-year-old group that includes living crocodylians and their extinct relatives. Extant crocodylians are m...

    Authors: Pedro L. Godoy, Roger B. J. Benson, Mario Bronzati and Richard J. Butler

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:167

    Content type: Research article

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  35. Cetaceans exhibit an exceptionally wide range of body size, yet in this regard, their genetic basis remains poorly explored. In this study, 20 body-size-related genes for which duplication, mutation, or defici...

    Authors: Yingying Sun, Yanzhi Liu, Xiaohui Sun, Yurui Lin, Daiqing Yin, Shixia Xu and Guang Yang

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:157

    Content type: Research article

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  36. Most fatty acids (FAs) making up the adipose tissue in mammals have a dietary origin and suffer little modification when they are stored. However, we propose that some of those FAs, specifically those that can...

    Authors: Alicia I. Guerrero and Tracey L. Rogers

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:155

    Content type: Research article

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  37. Understanding how variation in gene expression contributes to morphological diversity is a major goal in evolutionary biology. Cichlid fishes from the East African Great lakes exhibit striking diversity in tro...

    Authors: Ehsan Pashay Ahi, Pooja Singh, Anna Duenser, Wolfgang Gessl and Christian Sturmbauer

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:150

    Content type: Research article

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  38. Volvocine algae provide a suitable model for investigation of the evolution of multicellular organisms. Within this group, evolution of the body plan from flattened to spheroidal colonies is thought to have oc...

    Authors: Shota Yamashita and Hisayoshi Nozaki

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:120

    Content type: Research article

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  39. The branchiostegal series consists of an alignment of bony elements in the posterior portion of the skull of osteichthyan vertebrates. We trace the evolution of the number of elements in a comprehensive survey...

    Authors: Eduardo Ascarrunz, Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra, Ricardo Betancur-R and Michel Laurin

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:117

    Content type: Research article

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  40. Male genitals have repeatedly evolved left-right asymmetries, and the causes of such evolution remain unclear. The Drosophila nannoptera group contains four species, among which three exhibit left-right asymmetri...

    Authors: Andrea E. Acurio, Flor T. Rhebergen, Sarah Paulus, Virginie Courtier-Orgogozo and Michael Lang

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:109

    Content type: Research article

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  41. Sparid fishes of the genus Diplodus show a complex life history. Juveniles have adaptations well suited to life in the water column. When fishes recruit into the adult population, individuals develop a radically ...

    Authors: Paolo Colangelo, Daniele Ventura, Paolo Piras, Jacopo Pagani Guazzugli Bonaiuti and Giandomenico Ardizzone

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:106

    Content type: Research article

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  42. The Psittaciformes (parrots and cockatoos) are characterised by their large beaks, and are renowned for their ability to produce high bite forces. These birds also possess a suite of modifications to their cra...

    Authors: Jen A. Bright, Jesús Marugán-Lobón, Emily J. Rayfield and Samuel N. Cobb

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:104

    Content type: Research article

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  43. Color and pattern phenotypes have clear implications for survival and reproduction in many species. However, the mechanisms that produce this coloration are still poorly characterized, especially at the genomi...

    Authors: Adam M. M. Stuckert, Emily Moore, Kaitlin P. Coyle, Ian Davison, Matthew D. MacManes, Reade Roberts and Kyle Summers

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:85

    Content type: Research article

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  44. Many species of snakes exhibit epidermal surface nanostructures that form complex motifs conferring self-cleaning properties, and sometimes structural iridescence, to their skin.

    Authors: Marcelle I. Arrigo, Luis M. De Oliveira Vilaca, Anamarija Fofonjka, Achyuthan N. Srikanthan, Adrien Debry and Michel C. Milinkovitch

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:91

    Content type: Research article

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  45. Self-powered flight is one of the most energy-intensive types of locomotion found in vertebrates. It is also associated with a range of extreme morpho-physiological adaptations that evolved independently in th...

    Authors: Camilo López-Aguirre, Suzanne J. Hand, Daisuke Koyabu, Nguyen Truong Son and Laura A. B. Wilson

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:75

    Content type: Research article

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  47. In species that reproduce with sexual reproduction, males and females often have opposite strategies to maximize their own fitness. For instance, males are typically expected to maximize their number of mating...

    Authors: Margot Fortin, Joël Meunier, Tiffany Laverré, Catherine Souty-Grosset and Freddie-Jeanne Richard

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:65

    Content type: Research article

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  48. Caecilians (Gymnophiona) are the least speciose extant lissamphibian order, yet living forms capture approximately 250 million years of evolution since their earliest divergences. This long history is reflecte...

    Authors: Carla Bardua, Mark Wilkinson, David J. Gower, Emma Sherratt and Anjali Goswami

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:30

    Content type: Research article

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  49. The evolution of elongated body forms in tetrapods has a strong influence on the musculoskeletal system, including the reduction of pelvic and pectoral girdles, as well as the limbs. However, despite extensive...

    Authors: Natascha Westphal, Kristin Mahlow, Jason James Head and Johannes Müller

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:16

    Content type: Research article

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  50. Morphological diversity among closely related animals can be the result of differing growth patterns. The Australian radiation of agamid lizards (Amphibolurinae) exhibits great ecological and morphological div...

    Authors: Jaimi A. Gray, Emma Sherratt, Mark N. Hutchinson and Marc E. H. Jones

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:7

    Content type: Research article

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