Forms of Becoming: The Evolutionary Biology of Development

by Alessandro Minelli

Overview

What comes first, form or function? Trumpeted as the future of biological science, evolutionary developmental biology (or "evo-devo") answers this fundamental question by showing how evolution controls the development of organisms. In Forms of Becoming, Alessandro Minelli, a leading international figure in the field, takes an in-depth and comprehensive look at the history and key issues of evo-devo. Spirited and insightful, this book focuses on the innovative ways animal organisms evolve through competition and cooperation.

Minelli provides a complete overview of conceptual developments—from the fierce nineteenth-century debates between the French biologists Geoffroy and Cuvier, who fought over questions of form versus function—to modern theories of how genes dictate body formation. The book's wide-ranging topics include expression patterns of genes, developmental bias, the role of developmental genes, and genetic determinism. Drawing from diverse examples, such as the anatomy of butterflies, giraffes, Siamese twins, and corals, Minelli extends and reformulates important concepts from development, evolution, and the interplay between the two.

Presenting the accessible and cutting-edge ideas of evolutionary developmental biology, Forms of Becoming is fascinating reading for anyone interested in genetics and the animal form.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691135687
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	04/12/2009
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Alessandro Minelli is professor of zoology at the University of Padua in Italy. He is the author of The Development of Animal Form and the coeditor of Evolving Pathways: Key Themes in Evolutionary Developmental Biology.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Part One: Forms and Numbers
Chapter 1: Unity in Diversity 3
Two Skeletons 3
Clashes at the Muséum 5
Squid and Vertebrate 7
Topsy-turvy 9

Chapter 2: Archetypes 11
The Primeval Plant 11
A Skeleton for Everyone 14
An Exemplary Crayfi sh 16

Chapter 3: Easy Numbers, Forbidden Numbers 18
The Scolopendra's Legs 18
The Nonexistent Variant 22
The Leech's Segments 23
Unexpected Arithmetic 24
The Giraffe's Neck 28
Indirect Effects 29
On the Fingers of One Hand 32
Number and Position 35

Chapter 4: Privileged Genes 38
Unity of Body Plan 38
The Universal Appendage 42
The Zootype 45
Position and Structure 48
"Master Control Genes" 50
Networks 53

Part Two: Constructing Form
Chapter 5: Evolution and Development 59
Genes and Determinism 59
Possible Butterfl ies, Real Butterflies 63
Evo-devo 65

Chapter 6: The Logic of Development 68
From Mechanics to Molecules 68
The Lawfulness of "Monsters" 70
A Worm Enters the Scene 72
A Mosaic, or Perhaps Not 75
One Model, Several Models 76
The Adult's Questionable Uniqueness 77
Boxed Generations 78
According to Program 80
Cuticle, Cuticles 81
Cilia and Mitosis 86
Taking Development Seriously 89
Ontogeny and Phylogeny 90

Chapter 7: Paradigm Shifts 94
Science and Language 94
Gene, Genes 95
Busillis 97
Tissues 99
More on Segments 101
Origin, Form, and Function 103
Parallel Worksites 105
What Do We Start From? 107
Which Adult? 109
Siamese Twins and Corals 111
Spare Parts 113

Chapter 8: Comparisons 117
Horns and Antlers 117
Homology 119
One Gene, Several Effects 121
Ars Combinatoria 123
The Limits of Hierarchies 125
Organs, Only When All Is Done 127
Structures, Processes, and Developmental Stages 129

Chapter 9: The Body's Syntax 132
From Tip to Toe 132
The Dual Animal 134
The Sea Urchin 136
The Tapeworm 137

Part Three: Origins
Chapter 10: Competition or Cooperation? 145
Apologues and Metaphors 145
The Species: From Inside and from Outside 146
Butterfl ies and Sea Urchins 148
Parasitoids 150
Throw-Away Larvae 150
Competition between Equals, or Not Quite 154
Germ and Soma 158
Authorized Competition among Equals 161
A Virtual Mouth 163
Embryonic Leafl ets 165
Who Is Winning? 167
One Egg, Several Embryos 169
Two Twins, or Rather One 170
Identical Twins, or Maybe Not 171
The Pupa's Balance Sheet 175
Competition and Cooperation: Two Sides of the Same Coin 177
Everything Small 178
Development in Stages 180

Chapter 11: Making and Remaking 183
Many and All Equal, or Few and Different 183
A Product of Factors 186
Calculations without Error 189
Broken Chains 194
Co-option 196
Buds and Appendages 197

Chapter 12: Innovations without Plans 201
Regularity without a Program 201
Inexpensive Symmetry 201
Breaks in Symmetry 204
The Origin of Evolutionary Novelties 205
Modules 208
A Glance at the Clock 209

Epilogue 211
Recommended Readings 215
Index 221

What People are Saying About This

Wallace Arthur

Minelli takes up important messages from development, evolution, and the interaction between the two. Interesting, unique, and well-written, this book is a great read from a master of the subject.
— Wallace Arthur, National University of Ireland

From the Publisher

"Minelli takes up important messages from development, evolution, and the interaction between the two. Interesting, unique, and well-written, this book is a great read from a master of the subject."—Wallace Arthur, National University of Ireland

Editorial Reviews

"Minelli provides his distinctive perspective of the field of evolutionary developmental biology. Whether or not readers agree with himon specific points, he raisesmany interesting questions that might well be fuel for long discussions on a summer evening. Overall, this book is stimulating reading and will provide much food for thought."—-Christian Peter Klingenberg, Trends in Ecology and Evolution

"I enjoyed reading Forms of Becoming. It added depth to my knowledge of the historical background of comparative morphological studies, and it regrounded my appreciation of the diversity of evolutionary modifications in development across animals. I recommend this book as entry-level reading for non-'evo-devo' folks as well as the many developmental and evolutionary biologists whose research involves phenotype. I also recommend this thought-provoking book to graduate students. . . . In summary, Minelli promotes an integrative view that is timely and immensely valuable."—-Paula Mabee, BioScience

"This book is a fascinating reading. It will appeal to anyone that has an interest in animal form and development, and also in genetics."—-Evelyne Bremond-Hoslet, Mammalia

From the Publisher

This book is a fascinating reading. It will appeal to anyone that has an interest in animal form and development, and also in genetics.

Mammalia - Evelyne Bremond-Hoslet

I enjoyed reading Forms of Becoming. It added depth to my knowledge of the historical background of comparative morphological studies, and it regrounded my appreciation of the diversity of evolutionary modifications in development across animals. I recommend this book as entry-level reading for non-'evo-devo' folks as well as the many developmental and evolutionary biologists whose research involves phenotype. I also recommend this thought-provoking book to graduate students. . . . In summary, Minelli promotes an integrative view that is timely and immensely valuable.

BioScience - Paula Mabee

Minelli provides his distinctive perspective of the field of evolutionary developmental biology. Whether or not readers agree with himon specific points, he raisesmany interesting questions that might well be fuel for long discussions on a summer evening. Overall, this book is stimulating reading and will provide much food for thought.

Trends in Ecology and Evolution - Christian Peter Klingenberg

This book is a fascinating reading. It will appeal to anyone that has an interest in animal form and development, and also in genetics.
— Evelyne Bremond-Hoslet

Mammalia

I enjoyed reading Forms of Becoming. It added depth to my knowledge of the historical background of comparative morphological studies, and it regrounded my appreciation of the diversity of evolutionary modifications in development across animals. I recommend this book as entry-level reading for non-'evo-devo' folks as well as the many developmental and evolutionary biologists whose research involves phenotype. I also recommend this thought-provoking book to graduate students. . . . In summary, Minelli promotes an integrative view that is timely and immensely valuable.
— Paula Mabee

BioScience

Minelli provides his distinctive perspective of the field of evolutionary developmental biology. Whether or not readers agree with himon specific points, he raisesmany interesting questions that might well be fuel for long discussions on a summer evening. Overall, this book is stimulating reading and will provide much food for thought.
— Christian Peter Klingenberg

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Minelli provides his distinctive perspective of the field of evolutionary developmental biology. Whether or not readers agree with himon specific points, he raisesmany interesting questions that might well be fuel for long discussions on a summer evening. Overall, this book is stimulating reading and will provide much food for thought.
— Christian Peter Klingenberg

Trends in Ecology and Evolution