Meeting Abstract
Evolutionary Developmental Biology (EvoDevo) seeks to explain many of the confusing and fascinating patterns we see in nature, igniting student interest immediately. Moreover, it is highly integrative – allowing students with backgrounds in either Genetics, Development, Evolution, or Anatomy and Physiology to explore other fields from a steady reference point. Despite this, there is no recent textbook suitable for the undergraduate/first year graduate classroom. This places the burden on each instructor to summarize the last 15 years of progress in the field. To alleviate this, I have created a free open source EvoDevo curriculum consisting of a core textbook as well as reading and discussion guides for external sources. The entire curriculum can be edited, remixed and augmented in LibreTexts, making it a useful starting point for a custom course. The curriculum is designed for sophomores through first year grad students and does not assume any coursework past Introductory Biology. Discussion questions range greatly in difficulty and complexity, giving both beginner and more advanced students challenging topics to consider. Currently, the course contains modules on Developmental Processes (Fertilization, Cleavage, and Gastrulation), EvoDevo concepts (Patterning, Evolvability, Novelty, and Regionalization), and primers on Genetics and Gene Regulatory Networks. While some of these topics are covered in other undergraduate-level courses, my curriculum uses EvoDevo case-studies to make the topics relevant to the class. EvoDevo is a broad and quickly moving field, making it particularly amenable to an Open Textbook. Students, researchers, and instructors are invited to edit, enhance, and add to the current topics with the ultimate goal of creating a resource pool of EvoDevo teaching modules that can be mixed and matched for individual courses.
