title: The deuterostome context of chordate origins.
abstract: Our understanding of vertebrate origins is powerfully informed by comparative morphology, embryology and genomics of chordates, hemichordates and echinoderms, which together make up the deuterostome clade. Striking body-plan differences among these phyla have historically hindered the identification of ancestral morphological features, but recent progress in molecular genetics and embryology has revealed deep similarities in body-axis formation and organization across deuterostomes, at stages before morphological differences develop. These developmental genetic features, along with robust support of pharyngeal gill slits as a shared deuterostome character, provide the foundation for the emergence of chordates.
authors.affiliation: Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, 120 Oceanview Boulevard, Pacific Grove, California 93950, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Lowe
authors.affiliation: Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, 120 Oceanview Boulevard, Pacific Grove, California 93950, USA.
authors.forename: D Nathaniel
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder Ramaley N122 Campus Box 334 Boulder, Colorado 80309-0334, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Molecular and Cell Biology University of California, Berkeley 142 Life Sciences Addition 3200 Berkeley, California 94720-3200, USA. [2] Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Okinawa Prefecture 904-0495, Japan. [3] Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute 2800 Mitchell Drive Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Rokhsar
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology University of California, Berkeley 142 Life Sciences Addition 3200 Berkeley, California 94720-3200, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gerhart
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D043344:Chordata / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification / Q000196:embryology*; D004707:Endoderm / Q000196:embryology; D005880:Gills / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000196:embryology; D010802:Phylogeny