Determinants of Morphological Evolution: A Symposium at ICSEB V August 19-20, 1996; Budapest, Hungary

发育生物学和进化生物学的领域都在经历发酵。在过去几年中，在胚胎发育的遗传机制特征方面取得了巨大进展，这表明在这些过程中存在意想不到的功能冗余和过度决定程度。此外，进化研究还揭示了在不同谱系中存在的惊人程度的同质性和其他形式的平行形态进化，并有证据表明，在多细胞生命的历史中，广泛的形态多样性出现的时间比以前认为的要早得多。这些现象提出了有关基因活动与生物形态产生之间关系的新问题，并向一些人提出，随着理解发育系统进化的新范式的发展，这些难题的解决方案将会出现。“形态进化的决定因素”研讨会的目的是汇集发育和进化生物学领域的研究人员，他们的工作证明了这些学科之间的联系，以及在凝聚态材料形态发生领域工作的物理科学家，讨论生物形态进化的遗传、表观遗传、物理和生活史决定因素问题。第五届国际系统与进化生物学大会的组织者邀请举办一个关于这些主题的研讨会，这代表了对这种跨学科活动的鼓励，而这次会议的地点在匈牙利，将有助于促进采用传统不同方法研究生物形式的科学家群体之间的交流。＊＊＊

*** 9527453 Newman The fields of developmental and evolutionary biology are both undergoing ferment. The vast progress in the last few years in characterizing the genetic mechanisms involved in embryonic development has demonstrated unexpected degrees of functional redundancy and overdetermination in these processes. In addition, evolutionary studies have revealed surprising extents of homoplasy and other forms of parallel morphological evolution in disparate lineages, as well as evidence that extensive morphological diversity appeared much earlier in the history of multicellular life than previously thought. These phenomena have raised new questions concerning the relationship between gene activity and the generation of biological form, and have suggested to some that the solution to these puzzles will emerge with the development of a new parardigm for understanding the evolution of developmental systems. It is the purpose of this symposium on "Determinants of Morphological Evolution" to bring together investigators in the areas of developmental and evolutionary biology whose work evidences an appreciation of the connection between these disciplines, and physical scientists working in the areas of morphogenesis of condensed materials, to discuss questions of the genetic, epigenetic, physical and life history determinants of the evolution of biological form. The invitation by the organizers of the Fifth International Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology to present a symposium on these subjects represents an encouragement to such interdisciplinary activity, and the site of this meeting, in Hungary, will help foster communication among groups of scientists with traditionally different approaches to the study of biological form. ***