▪ Abstract Molecular tools have profoundly rearranged our understanding of metazoan
phylogeny. Initially based on the nuclear small ribosomal subunit (SSU or 18S) gene, recent …

This article considers the role played by a core set of" dynamical patterning modules"(DPMs)
in the origination, development and evolution of complex organisms. These consist of the …

Systematics has developed rapidly during the past two decades. A multitude of new
methods and contributions from a diversity of biological fields including molecular genetics …

The phylogenomic approach has largely resolved metazoan phylogeny and improved our
knowledge of animal evolution based on morphology, paleontology, and embryology …

Background Within the complex metazoan phylogeny, the relationships of the three
lophophorate lineages, ectoprocts, brachiopods and phoronids, are particularly elusive. To …

Recent developments in sequencing technologies have greatly improved our knowledge of
phylogenetic relationships and genomic architectures throughout the tree of life. Spiralia, a …

Of the three major bilaterian clades, Lophotrochozoa has the greatest diversity and disparity
of body forms and is the least understood in terms of phylogenetic history. Within this clade …

The shapes and forms of multicellular organisms arise by the generation of new cell states
and types and changes in the numbers and rearrangements of the various kinds of cells …

Temporal collinearity is often considered the main force preserving Hox gene clusters in
animal genomes. Studies that combine genomic and gene expression data are scarce …

The phylum Rotifera consists of minuscule, nonsegmented animals with a unique body plan
and an unresolved phylogenetic position. The presence of pharyngeal articulated jaws …