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ASSUMPTIONS WITH CANDIDATE GENES. "This approach requires two assumptions: one is that genes and gene regulatory networks (GRNs) responsible for developmental processes are conserved over large evolutionary distances. The second is that changes in the regulation of these genes, resulting in altered temporal and spatial expression patterns, affect the phenotype and thus are responsible for fixed differences in organismal morphology. For many studied developmental processes, these two assumptions appear to hold true." https://lnkd.in/dD4GcAS View in LinkedIn

CRITICAL ROLE. "The idea that viruses have played a critical role in the origin of DNA is in line with previous conception that retroviruses were relics of the RNA/DNA world transition." https://lnkd.in/dNTbYMw View in LinkedIn

CANDIDATE GENES APPROACH. "Large numbers of comparative studies have demonstrated that changes in expression patterns of developmental genes are correlated with the evolution of morphological phenotypes. These data underlie the ‘candidate gene’ approach, in which genes that are functionally determined to cause particular phenotypes when mutated are hypothesized to be responsible for similar phenotypic changes during evolution." https://lnkd.in/dD4GcAS View in LinkedIn

LARGER GENOMES. "Replacement of RNA by DNA as genetic material has thus opened the way to the formation of large genomes, a prerequisite for the evolution of modern cells. The above scenario nicely explains why, through Darwinian competition, cell populations with DNA genomes finally eliminated cells with RNA genomes." https://lnkd.in/dNTbYMw View in LinkedIn

TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL CONSIDERATIONS. "Rampant polyploidy in natural populations results in duplicate gene copies that can undergo differential selection and allow for temporal and positional alternations in genetic networks to emerge, conferring novel phenotypes upon which selection may act." https://lnkd.in/dD4GcAS View in LinkedIn

BORROWED MACHINERY. "Most DNA viruses are entirely dependent on the host DNA and RNA synthesizing machinery, and RNA processing machinery, while larger genome viruses encode this machinery themselves. All RNA viruses use their own RNA replicase enzymes to replicate their genomes." https://lnkd.in/dNTbYMw View in LinkedIn

POTENTIAL RED HERRINGS. "While the underlying genetic networks are often conserved across plant lineages, genes identified to be important in the regulation of phenotypic changes for wildtype and mutant plants in model species may not translate into the types of genetic and phenotypic changes that are selected upon and affect survival and reproductive fitness under natural environmental conditions." https://lnkd.in/dD4GcAS View in LinkedIn

WHY DNA? "A major question is why was DNA selected to replace RNA? The traditional explanation is that DNA replaced RNA as genetic material because it is more stable and can be repaired more faithfully." https://lnkd.in/dNTbYMw View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS the first weekend on evo-devo as an idea. The evolution and development of symmetry in the snapdragon is a topic that has engaged some of our brightest minds. Such focus and attention to the smallest details of a fragment of nature is not only a marvelous luxury but also permits a portal into the greater inner workings of life on planet earth. We are enriched by such scholarship. View in LinkedIn

MORE COMPLEX THAN JUST CANDIDATE GENES. "In many cases, differential copy numbers of the genes involved in the networks may contribute to a shift in timing or placement of gene expression, resulting in novelty in form. Thus, both regulatory changes as well as novel or altered DNA binding and/or protein interactions (i.e. coding changes) must be investigated." https://lnkd.in/dD4GcAS View in LinkedIn