Teaching Staff: Armand Leroi (convenor)

Aim: To understand the molecular basis of morphological evolution in animals. Comparative morphology, once the intellectual centre of zoology, has been out of fashion since the early 20th C . But no more. Molecular biology has become comparative, and we can now glimpse, for the first time, the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of animal form and life history. The Development and Evolution of Animal Form covers an entirely new discipline with classical roots. It is one that begins with molecular phylogenies and bizarre early fossils and ends with the molecular genetics of development and life-history as revealed by the study of "model organisms". It is a synopsis of our rapidly changing views of how animals evolved. Finally, this course shows how the methods of modern molecular developmental biology shed light on the causes of inherited human disease.

Objectives: By the end of the course you should have a firm understanding of: (i) The history of metazoan diversity and the probable phylogenetic relationships among extant and fossil taxa; (ii) The major features of metazoan development, their underlying molecular mechanisms, and their conservation and diversity in animal evolution; (iii) the evolutionary and molecular basis of growth, sex determination and ageing in metazoans; (iv) how to interpret inherited disorders in humans.

Who should take the course: The course assumes a good understanding of invertebrate and vertebrate diversity, as well as a grasp of the basic concepts of evolutionary biology, molecular genetics, developmental and cellular biology. It will appeal to those who are interested in the history of animal diversity, molecular basis of development, and human genetics.

Content: 30 lectures, an essay, and a laboratory project.

Assessment: (i) one essay (10%); (ii) an independent laboratory project: its write up (15%) and oral quiz (5%); (iii) a 3 hour examination (75%).

Assignments: For the essay, each student will investigate a single gene disorder that affects human form. The gene must have been cloned and its function studied using model organisms. An account must be given, using online and bioinformatic tools, of its function in humans and how mutations in it cause pathology. In the laboratory work, each student dissects some obscure invertebrate (e.g., a clam or a snail or hermit crab) over the course of several weeks, and gives a complete account of its visible morphology, and writes a dissection report. Live specimens are used.

The complete course book, powerpoint files, and recommended reading are available on the teaching drive: smb://sklaser.bio.ic.ac.uk/teaching. (Access restricted to Imperial College.)