BIOL 239 - Evolutionary Developmental Biology

Biology 239 is an upper level seminar in evolutionary developmental biology, or “evo-devo”.  Evo-devo is a major, emerging field that integrates organismal evolutionary biology with molecular embryology, genetics, and genomics.  The goal of this course is to understand how changes in developmental processes have given rise to the incredible biological diversity seen in nature.  We will primarily focus on the evolution of metazoan, or animal, development, but we will also discuss evolution of non-metazoan organismal development.  This course emphasizes analysis and discussion of primary literature dealing with phenomena and questions that interest evolutionary developmental biologists, including (but not limited to): 1) How embryonic development arose and evolved in the transition to multicellularity, 2) The role evolution of developmental processes plays in the evolutionary modification of existing features and the origin of novel structures, 3) Phenotypic plasticity and the linkage between genotype and phenotype, and 4) Interactions between developmental processes and environmental influences.

Prerequisites: BIOL 105   and BIOL 118  ; or BIOL 221  ; or by instructor’s permission

Anticipated Terms Offered: Offered every other fall.