1.
What is "molecular paleontology"? What important kind(s) of questions do its practitioners ask, and why does it require collaboration among systematists, paleontologists, and developmental biologists?
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2.
What, in general, is the function of homeotic genes, and in what groups of animals have Hox loci been found? What evidence suggests that HOM and Hox genes are homologous? What traits characterize Hox genes as a group? Describe the results of experiments that produced fruit flies lacking specific Hox genes and discuss what the results tell us about the specific function of Hox loci.
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3.
Discuss the evidence that Hox genes originated prior the evolution of animals. What implications does this have for their original function? Describe the use of phylogenetic analyses to relate changes in the number and function of Hox genes to the morphology of different animal groups. What general patterns and answers have emerged from those studies, and what puzzles remain?
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4.
Describe the evidence that suggests that diversification of arthropod body plans occurred as a result of changes in where Hox loci were expressed rather than in changes in the number of Hox loci. Discuss the evidence that mutations within the Hox gene Ubx led to the evolution of the legless abdomen observed in insects.
[Hint ]
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5.
Describe the morphological evidence supporting the hypothesis that tetrapod limbs are homologous to the fins of the lobe-finned fish and the molecular evidence supporting the hypothesis that homologous developmental pathways underly the structural homology of tetrapod limbs. Discuss the experimental work by Sordino et al. supporting the hypothesis that hands are an "evolutionary add-on" that evolved via a change in the expression of shh and Hox genes. What is the general implication of these findings for the possible mechanisms underlying adaptive change in limb structure?
[Hint ]
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6.
Describe the action(s) of the three major genes involved in limb formation in Drosophila. How did Panganiban et al. test the hypothesis that variation in the expression of Dll leads to new or modified limb outgrowths? Discuss the evidence that outgrowths from the body wall in bilaterians are homologous at the genetic level.
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7.
What two lines of evidence support Goethe's hypothesis that flowers are derived from whorls of leaves?
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8.
Discuss the evidence that flower morphology depends on the expression of homeotic genes. Describe the major genes that have been identified and outline Weigel et al.'s hypothesis for their mode of action. Are LFY and its target genes "the" flower genes? Explain.
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9.
What important idea is summarized by the phrase "deep homology"? For what structures has deep homology been proposed, and what kind of information does this suggest about the early common ancestor(s) of animals?
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10.
What important idea is summarized by the phrase "deep homology"? For what structures has deep homology been proposed, and what kind of information does this suggest about the early common ancestor(s) of bilaterally symmetric animals?
[Hint ]
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11.
Discuss the important insights evo-devo research has contributed to the studies of development, microevolution, and macroevolution. Describe, in your own words, how evo-devo has (or may) lead to the conceptual unification of systematics, paleontology, and developmental biology.
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