Evolution and Development

3 credits

We see incredible biodiversity on earth, and biologists are now learning how some of this diversity emerges. The field of Evolutionary Development (Evo Devo) asks how development can be modified during evolution to produce the incredible variation observed in Nature. How are animal body plans formed, and how can those plans be changed? How do developmental processes constrain adaptive changes in multicellular organisms? What genetic pathways has evolution targeted to modify phenotypes? The course will address these and other fundamental questions through readings, discussion, and case studies. Students will be introduced to the diversity of multicellular organisms and their evolutionary history, and some of the methods and interpretations of modern developmental, molecular, and evolutionary biology.