Unraveling the heritage of lost traits
Alexa Sadier, Karen E. Sears, Molly C. Womack
Abstract
We synthesize ontogenetic work spanning the past century that show evolutionarily lost structures are rarely entirely absent from earlier developmental stages. We discuss morphological and genetic insights from developmental studies reveal about the evolution of trait loss and regain.
Topics & Concepts
Evolutionary biologyTraitBiologyDevelopmental geneticsGeneticsGeneComputer scienceRegulation of gene expressionProgramming languageAnimal Behavior and ReproductionGenetic diversity and population structureMorphological variations and asymmetry