Integrating Complex Life Cycles in Comparative Developmental Biology

The goal of comparative developmental biology is identifying mechanistic differences in embryonic development between different taxa and how these evolutionary changes have led to morphological and organizational differences in adult body plans. Much of this work has focused on direct-developing species in which the adult forms straight from the embryo and embryonic modifications have direct effects on the adult. However, most animal lineages are defined by indirect development, in which the embryo gives rise to a larval body plan and the adult forms by transformation of the larva. Historically, much of our understanding of complex life cycles is viewed through the lenses of ecology and zoology. In this review, we discuss the importance of establishing developmental rather than morphological or ecological criteria for defining developmental mode and explicitly considering the evolutionary implications of incorporating complex life cycles into broad developmental comparisons of embryos across metazoans.

Automated summary

The goal of comparative developmental biology is to study mechanistic differences in embryonic development across different taxa and how these differences have shaped the adult body plans. Previous research has mainly focused on directly developing species, but the majority of animal lineages exhibit indirect development. This review highlights the importance of establishing developmental criteria instead of relying solely on morphological or ecological criteria, and emphasizes the significance of incorporating complex life cycles into the broad developmental comparisons of embryos across different animal groups.