Category:	Science and Technology
Domain:	Biology and Biotechnology
Keywords:	Biodiversity - biology, evolution, homology, evo-devo
Outlook:	In tandem with the development of inexpensive tools to sequence the genome of various species, the merger of evolutionary and developmental biology will enable us to study evolutionary variation in a methodical way, learning how organisms evolve and change their form. Evo-devo could enable us to develop medical interventions to prevent birth defects and heriditary diseases. Ultimately, evo-devo could enable us to construct organisms from their component genetic data.
Summary Analysis:	Evo-devo is the marriage of evolutionary biology and developmental biology, begun in the early 1990s as an alternative means for thinking about newly available genetic data. With the decoding of the human genome, evo-devo offers the promise of new scientific insights into evolution, and in particular the role of the environment as it influences evolution and speciation. One of the early lessons of evo-devo is that the diversity of body plans and morphology in organisms across many phyla is not necessarily reflected in similar diversity at the level of the genetic sequences controlling development. Not only has this insight been helpful in empirically determining that morphological novelty cannot be explained by the genome alone, but it has also given rise to theories now being researched that will explain natural selection by action on regulation of gene expression rather than by the genetic product alone. Today we look at an organism's component DNA to try to deduce why an organism has particular traits. However, some scientists forecast that in the far future, evo-devo research might lead to a computer system that can read and analyze a sequence of raw DNA to predict how they'll be expressed. "The day will come when you can read off the sequence and deduce the organism," speculates UC Berkeley genetics and development professor Michael Levine, co-director of the university's Center for Integrative Genomics. Evo-devo will provide an understanding of how biological evolution and diversity resulted from gene regulation, and possibly external factors including ecology and the effect of other species. When they understand through this richer explanation how diversity evolved, scientists and researchers may be in a position to prevent or mask the emergence of undesirable novelties. Such tinkering with evolution is certain to raise ethical concerns, but the approach will also be seen as a mechanism for preventing birth defects or hereditary diseases. Finally, a far deeper understanding of the human genome -- and all of the social and religious consequences that entails -- will emerge from evo-devo as it enables the identification of genetic changes that are not translated into morphological differences.

	Implications:	Potential for 'reverse engineering of DNA' Potential for a deeper awareness of the mechanisms of evolution, the relationship among organisms, and the role of diversity to challenge the religious and policy tenets of governments and societies
	Early Indicators:	Pronouncement by biologist Stephen J. Gould at the 2000 annual meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences that the field of evo–devo is 'the most exciting thing happening in evolutionary biology today'
	What to Watch:	Evolutionary psychologists apply evo-devo theories to their discipline, reshaping society's understanding of how behaviours emerge and ultimately resulting in a new approach to behavioural and psychological treatment.
	Parallels/Precedents:	Darwin's formulation of ideas on the origin and evolution of species
	Enablers/drivers:	Development of high-throughput molecular and genetic techniques and algorithms Continued increases in computing power
	Leaders:	Indiana University (the work of Rudolph A. Raff) University of Wisconsin (the work of Sean Carroll) UC Berkeley (the work of Nipam Patel) Laboratory for Development and Evolution, University Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge[link] School of Animal and Microbial Sciences, University of Reading [link] Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University [link] Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland [link] Center for Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan [link] Department of Genetics, University of Barcelona, Spain [link] Department of Evolution Genetics, University of Cologne, Germany[link] Department of Life Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, China [link]
	Figures:
	Sources:	Carroll, Sean B., Jennifer Grenier, and Scott Wetherbee. From DNA to Diversity Molecular Genetics and the Evolution of Animal Design, 2004 Brian K Hall and Wendy Olson, Keywords and Concepts in Evolutionary Developmental Biology, 2003. Quentin C. B. Cronk, Richard M. Bateman, and Julie A. Hawkins, Eds. Developmental Genetics and Plant Evolution, 2002. Jaume Baguna and Jordi Garcia-Fernandez, Int. J. Dev. Biol. 47: 705-713 (2003). Griffiths, Paul E., "Evo-Devo Meets the Mind: Towards a developmental evolutionary psychology", 2002. Goodman, Corey S. and Bridget C. Coughlin, Special Feature: The evolution of evo-devo biology, PNAS, Apr 2000; 97: 4424 - 4425 Raff, R.A. 1996. The Shape of Life. Genes, Development, and the Evolution of Animal Form, 1996. Carroll, Sean B. "Endless forms: the evolution of gene regulation and morphological diversity." Cell 101 pp.577-580 (2000) Ferrier, D. and Shimeld, S. "Evolution of Developmental Mechanisms." Genome Biol. June 27 2002; 3(7): .3. [link] Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Comparative Development and Evolution Initative (CODE) [link] "Monsters in Our Midst." July 21 2001. New Scientist. 2001 [link] Sean B. Carroll, 2005, Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo and the Making of the Animal Kingdom, W. W. Norton & Company

	At A Glance:	When:	21–50 years +
		Where:	Global
		How Fast:	Years
		Likelihood:	Medium-Low
		Impact:	Medium-Low
		Controversy:	Medium

Related Outlooks: