Raff R A
Indiana Molecular Biology Institute and Department of Biology, Indiana University, Jordan Hall, 1001 East Third Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA.
Nat Rev Genet. 2000 Oct;1(1):74-9. doi: 10.1038/35049594.
The history of life documented in the fossil record shows that the evolution of complex organisms such as animals and plants has involved marked changes in morphology, and the appearance of new features. However, evolutionary change occurs not by the direct transformation of adult ancestors into adult descendants but rather when developmental processes produce the features of each generation in an evolving lineage. Therefore, evolution cannot be understood without understanding the evolution of development, and how the process of development itself blases or constrains evolution. A revolutionary synthesis of developmental biology and evolution is in progress.
化石记录中记载的生命史表明，诸如动植物等复杂生物体的进化涉及形态上的显著变化以及新特征的出现。然而，进化变化并非通过成年祖先直接转变为成年后代而发生，而是当发育过程在一个不断进化的谱系中产生每一代的特征时才会发生。因此，如果不理解发育的进化以及发育过程本身如何影响或限制进化，就无法理解进化。发育生物学与进化的一场革命性综合正在进行之中。
