title: Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo) Research in Latin America.
abstract: Famous for its blind cavefish and Darwin's finches, Latin America is home to some of the richest biodiversity hotspots of our planet. The Latin American fauna and flora inspired and captivated naturalists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including such notable pioneers such as Fritz Müller, Florentino Ameghino, and Léon Croizat who made a significant contribution to the study of embryology and evolutionary thinking. But, what are the historical and present contributions of the Latin American scientific community to Evo-Devo? Here, we provide the first comprehensive overview of the Evo-Devo laboratories based in Latin America and describe current lines of research based on endemic species, focusing on body plans and patterning, systematics, physiology, computational modeling approaches, ecology, and domestication. Literature searches reveal that Evo-Devo in Latin America is still in its early days; while showing encouraging indicators of productivity, it has not stabilized yet, because it relies on few and sparsely distributed laboratories. Coping with the rapid changes in national scientific policies and contributing to solve social and health issues specific to each region are among the main challenges faced by Latin American researchers. The 2015 inaugural meeting of the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology played a pivotal role in bringing together Latin American researchers eager to initiate and consolidate regional and worldwide collaborative networks. Such networks will undoubtedly advance research on the extremely high genetic and phenotypic biodiversity of Latin America, bound to be an almost infinite source of amazement and fascinating findings for the Evo-Devo community.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Desarrollo y Evolución, Departamento de Biología Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
authors.forename: Sylvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marcellini
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias, Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Favio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: González
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile.
authors.forename: Andres F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Sarrazin
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pabón-Mora
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México.
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Benítez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Producción Agrícola y Animal, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Xochimilco, Ciudad de México, México.
authors.forename: Alma
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piñeyro-Nelson
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, CBB, LQFPP, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gustavo L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Rezende
authors.affiliation: EvoDevo Lab, Unidad de Sistemas Arrecifales, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, México.
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maldonado
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belem, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Patricia Neiva
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Mariana B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Grizante
authors.affiliation: Núcleo em Ecologia e Desenvolvimento SócioAmbiental de Macaé (NUPEM), Campus Macaé, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Macae, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo Nunes
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Da Fonseca
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Ciudad de México, México.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vergara-Silva
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Suaza-Gaviria
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zumajo-Cardona
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
authors.forename: Eduardo E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Zattara
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Casasa
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suárez-Baron
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Federico D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D015509:Developmental Biology; D007843:Latin America; D012106:Research