About
Abstract:
Determining which genomic changes are associated with phenotypic innovations is a crucial question in evolutionary biology. In my seminar, I will discuss comparatively the genomic events that took place in two lineages which experienced major organismal novelties: vertebrates and echinoderms. I will describe how ancestral chromosomal units evolved in animals and deuterostomes in particular, and how they were reshaped during the whole genome duplication of vertebrates. I will deal with the specific case of wing-like appendages of little skates and show how they evolved through the disruption of the genomic regulatory landscapes. I will finally discuss how to understand the genomic bases of the novel pentaradiate body plans of echinoderms