Identifying the ripples of gene regulation evolution in the evolution of gene sequences to determine when animal nervous systems evolved

Animals display a bewildering diversity of morphological structures and adaptations that represent dramatic body plan transformations.

Forming these diverse body shapes requires the coordinated expression of hundreds of genes in a cell-specific manner; a monumentally complex task that is controlled by gene regulatory networks (GRNs): genes linked to each other by regulatory interactions, which modulate the gene expression in every cell of an organism.

Despite their central role in determining animal form and function, it is as of yet unclear how GRNs evolve and how they are linked to the origin of morphological innovation.

This project builds on the combined knowledge and expertise of the applicant and three European research institutions in order to tackle this knowledge gap using cutting-edge techniques, and an innovative, multidisciplinary approach that merges molecular, bioinformatic, and phylogenomic methods.