BACKGROUND Classic embryological studies showed that diffusible factors (morphogens)
influence cell fate during dorsal-ventral (DV) axis patterning. Subsequently, mathematical …

For over 15 years, antisense morpholino oligonucleotides (MOs) have allowed
developmental biologists to make key discoveries regarding developmental mechanisms in …

Jellyfish (medusae) are a distinctive life-cycle stage of medusozoan cnidarians. They are
major marine predators, with integrated neurosensory, muscular and organ systems. The …

Hox genes encode conserved developmental transcription factors that govern anterior-
posterior (AP) pattering in diverse bilaterian animals, which display bilateral symmetry …

Reverse genetics and next‐generation sequencing unlocked a new era in biology. It is now
possible to identify an animal (s) with the unique biology most relevant to a particular …

ABSTRACT Rocks of the Ediacaran System (635–541 Ma) preserve fossil evidence of some
of the earliest complex macroscopic organisms, many of which have been interpreted as …

The startling capacity of the amphibian Spemann organizer to induce naïve cells to form a
Siamese twin embryo with a second set of body axes is one of the hallmarks of …

Bilaterality–the possession of two orthogonal body axes–is the name-giving trait of all
bilaterian animals. These body axes are established during early embryogenesis and serve …

Cnidarians are fascinating creatures at the base of metazoan evolution possessing an
almost unlimited regeneration capacity that has attracted the interest of researchers, from …

Signaling molecules activate distinct patterns of gene expression to coordinate
embryogenesis, but how spatiotemporal expression diversity is generated is an open …