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Related Experiment Videos

Evolution of direct-developing larvae: selection vs loss.

Margaret Snoke Smith1, Kirk S Zigler, Rudolf A Raff

  • 1Department of Biology, Indiana University, 915 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.

Bioessays : News and Reviews in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
|May 18, 2007
PubMed
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POPULATION GENETIC CONSEQUENCES OF DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION IN SEA URCHINS (GENUS HELIOCIDARIS).

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2017

Sea urchin larvae exhibit two main life history strategies. Evidence suggests accelerated development in feeding larvae, challenging the idea that direct development evolved solely through loss of larval features.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Marine Biology

Background:

  • Sea urchin larvae typically follow one of two life history strategies: producing many small eggs for feeding larvae (indirect development) or fewer large eggs for non-feeding larvae (direct development).
  • The feeding pluteus larva is considered ancestral in sea urchins, while the simplified direct-developing larva is a derived form.
  • The prevailing hypothesis suggests direct development evolved through neutral loss of larval features after a shift to a nonfeeding strategy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolutionary mechanisms driving larval development in sea urchins.
  • To test the hypothesis that major developmental changes occur via neutral loss of larval features.
  • To explore the role of selection in the evolution of direct development.

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Main Methods:

  • Phylogenetic analysis to establish ancestral forms.
  • Comparative study of sea urchin larval morphologies and developmental processes.
  • Examination of Clypeaster rosaceus, a species with an intermediate life history strategy.

Main Results:

  • Phylogenetic studies confirm the pluteus larva as the ancestral sea urchin form.
  • Clypeaster rosaceus exhibits an intermediate life history, with a feeding larva that retains pluteus morphology.
  • This species shows evidence of selection for accelerated development in a feeding, pluteus-like larva.

Conclusions:

  • The evolution of direct development may involve selection for accelerated development, not solely neutral loss of features.
  • Major developmental changes can be driven by strong selection pressures on early adult development initiation.
  • Larval form transformation can occur through adaptive selection in feeding larvae, challenging previous evolutionary models.