Vertebrates have greatly elaborated the basic chordate body plan and evolved highly
distinctive genomes that have been sculpted by two whole-genome duplications. Here we …

The slow-evolving invertebrate amphioxus has an irreplaceable role in advancing our
understanding of the vertebrate origin and innovations. Here we resolve the nearly complete …

As the only surviving lineages of jawless fishes, hagfishes and lampreys provide a crucial
window into early vertebrate evolution,–. Here we investigate the complex history, timing …

Despite morphological diversification of chordates over 550 million years of evolution, their
shared basic anatomical pattern (or 'bodyplan') remains conserved by unknown …

Cephalochordates, urochordates, and vertebrates evolved from a common ancestor over
520 million years ago. To improve our understanding of chordate evolution and the origin of …

INTRODUCTION In animals, gene regulatory networks specify cell identity in space and
time. Transcription of genes in these networks is modulated by a class of cis-regulatory …

Cephalopods are known for their large nervous systems, complex behaviors and
morphological innovations. To investigate the genomic underpinnings of these features, we …

The discovery of a living coelacanth specimen in 1938 was remarkable, as this lineage of
lobe-finned fish was thought to have become extinct 70 million years ago. The modern …

Abstract Lancelets ('amphioxus') are the modern survivors of an ancient chordate lineage,
with a fossil record dating back to the Cambrian period. Here we describe the structure and …

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has been widely used in the study of human disease and
development, and about 70% of the protein-coding genes are conserved between the two …