Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Developmental Biology
Molecular Paleobiology of the Echinoderm Skeleton
Published: 2022-01-10
Subjects: Cell and Developmental Biology, Developmental Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Molecular paleobiology provides a promising avenue to merge data from deep time, molecular biology and genomics, gaining insights into the evolutionary process at multiple levels. The echinoderm skeleton is a model for molecular paleobioloogical studies. I begin with an overview of the skeletogenic process in echinoderms, as well as a discussion of what gene regulatory networks are, and why they [...]
Integrating natural and sexual selection across the biphasic life cycle
Published: 2021-06-23
Subjects: Agriculture, Behavior and Ethology, Cell and Developmental Biology, Developmental Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Food Biotechnology, Food Science, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
An alternation between diploid and haploid phases is universal among sexual eukaryotes. Across this biphasic cycle, natural selection and sexual selection occur in both phases. Together, these four stages of selection act on the phenotypes of individuals and influence the evolutionary trajectories of populations, but are rarely studied holistically. Here, we provide a conceptual framework that [...]
Evolution of sexual development and sexual dimorphism in insects
Published: 2021-02-22
Subjects: Cell and Developmental Biology, Developmental Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Most animal species consist of two distinct sexes. At the morphological, physiological, and behavioural levels the differences between males and females are numerous and dramatic, yet at the genomic level they are often slight or absent. This disconnect is overcome because simple genetic differences or environmental signals are able to direct the sex-specific expression of a shared genome. A [...]