Symposium -The 2007 Annual of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) January 3-7, 2007 in Phoenix, AZ

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During the past 40 years great progress have been made in understanding the functionalbasis of anatomical diversity of organisms. More recently, researchers have begun tounravel the genetic and developmental basis of anatomical structures. To understandevolutionary transformations, one needs to analyze changes at genetic, developmental, andphenotypic levels, as well as the integration between these levels. This requires theconstruction of genetic, developmental and functional/selectional scenarios. Currentinterest focuses on genetic and functional/selectional scenarios. Developmental scenariosthat convincingly link genetic and functional/selectional scenarios are scarce, but seeBeldade et al. 2002 for an example). It is essential to include knowledge of developmentalprocesses for a continued integration of developmental genetics and morphology. Mostmorphological structures develop under the influence of many genes. Therefore, tocomprehend the evolution of the development of these structures, an understanding isneeded of how the involved genes interact, directly or epigenetically, in steeringmorphogenetic patterning. The symposium and accompanying contributed paper and postersessions will provide a strong stimulus for integrative studies that link developmentalbiology, genetics and functional morphology.Intellectual Merits: There is a wide gap between what is known about the activity of genesand their role in morphogenesis. Therefore, we perceive an urgent need to facilitatecommunication among geneticists, developmental biologists and morphologists. The symposiumand associated activities (contributed paper and poster sessions) will provide importantopportunities for scientists with these two approaches to learn how their differentperspectives and methodologies can be used to broaden interpretations and generate morerobust and testable hypotheses that will shed light on the evolution of vertebratestructure.Broader Impacts: The symposium and associated activities (contributed paper and postersessions) will be held at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative andComparative Biology, a well-established international meeting that attracts a broadspectrum of biologists who are interested in interdisciplinary approaches. Symposiumpapers will be published in Integrative and Comparative Biology.