Evolutionary developmental biology

{{Evolution}}
'''Evolutionary developmental biology''' (also known as '''evo-devo''') is a field of [[biology]] that compares the developmental processes of different [[organism]]s to determine the ancestral relationship between them, and to discover how developmental processes evolved.

==Overview==
The developmental approach to evolution was excluded from the [[modern synthesis]], as it was thought that population [[genetics]] could explain evolution, whilst morphology and development were seen to play little role in modern evolutionary theory. This, however, has in recent years been challenged, as research has shown how developmental processes are important in evolution.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10128/ Developmental Biology. 6th edition by Scott F. Gilbert]</ref>

According to evo-devo scientists, population genetics and the developmental genetics accounts are both required to explain evolution. Some evo-devo researchers have pointed out limitations of classic [[neo-Darwinism]], see themselves as extending and enhancing the modern synthesis, and have also challenged certain tenets of neo-Darwinism and taken evolutionary theory beyond the boundaries of the modern synthesis.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17984972 Evo-devo: extending the evolutionary synthesis by Gerd B. Müller]</ref> Thus the field of evo-devo has been incorporated into the [[extended evolutionary synthesis]]. 

Developmental biology is one of the fastest growing fields in biology, creating a framework that integrates [[molecular biology]], physiology, cell biology, anatomy, neurobiology, immunology, [[ecology]], and [[evolutionary biology]].

A classic example of evo-devo would be {{wpl|Haeckel||'s}} treatise on the comparative anatomy of the [[embryo]]s of [[animal]] species. While Haeckel exaggerated some of the data, he did more or less accurately portray the developmental similarities of the embryos of related [[taxa]].<ref name="talkorigins">[https://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CB/CB701.html Haeckel's embryo pictures] - [[Talk.origins]]</ref> Haeckel noted that each of the embryos of the vertebrates, for instance, developed a {{wpl|notochord||,}}<ref group=note>The evolutionary predecessor of the spine.</ref> pharyngeal gill slits, and a tail.<ref name="talkorigins" /> Funnily enough, [[human]] embryos reabsorb their tail later on in development (because we're [[ape]]s).<ref>[https://www.livescience.com/57101-how-humans-lost-their-tail.html How humans lost their tail (twice)] - Live Science</ref>

==Debunking creationism==
According to evo-devo scientists, by leaving developmental biology out of the [[neo-Darwinian synthesis]], it has left evolutionary biology open to attacks by [[creationists]]. According to creationists, population genetics cannot explain the origin of complex structures such as the [[eye]], so evolution must be false. Creationists have questioned how complicated structures have emerged by a collection of random [[mutation]]s.

In response to these creationist claims, Scott F. Gilbert has written:<ref>Scott F. Gilbert ''Developmental Biology'' Sinauer Associates; 6<sup>th</sup> edition, 2000 ISBN 0878932437</ref>
{{quotebox|Once one adds development to the evolutionary synthesis, one can see how the eye can develop through induction, and that the concepts of modularity and correlated progression can readily explain such a phenomenon… Moreover, when one sees that the formation of eyes in all known phyla is based on the same signal transduction pathway, using the Pax6 [[gene]], it is not difficult to see descent with modification forming the various types of eyes.}}

==External links==
*[http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/features/061488/the-origins-of-form The Origins of Form by Sean B. Carroll]

==Notes==
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==References==
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[[Category:Evolution]]
[[Category:Biology]]

Categories: Evolution, Biology