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Metazoan Complexity

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Introduction to Marine Genomics

Part of the book series: Advances in Marine Genomics ((AMGE,volume 1))

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Abstract

Evolution is often regarded as a process leading from simple ancestors to more complex descendants, a generalized view that has also impacted on different concepts of evolution. However, the study of new marine model systems, and the inclusion of new levels of analysis, challenge this paradigm, as they reveal that levels of complexity can diverge from the apparent organizational complexity of individual species. In this chapter, we analyze molecular genetic progress from different animal taxa, and how they help to determine the molecular changes associated with major evolutionary transitions, such as the transition to multicellularity or the origin of germ layers.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Ferdinand Marlétaz and Benjamin Backfisch for critical reading of the manuscript, and Hanno Sandvik for help in locating the original lithograph reproduced in Fig. 5.1. Research in F.R.’s laboratory is supported by a start-up fund of the Max F. Perutz Laboratories.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max F. Perutz Laboratories, Campus Vienna Biocenter, University of Vienna, A-1030, Vienna, Austria

    Florian Raible

  2. Department for Molecular Evolution and Development, University of Vienna, A-1090, Vienna, Austria

    Patrick R. H. Steinmetz

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  1. Florian Raible
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  2. Patrick R. H. Steinmetz
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Correspondence to Florian Raible or Patrick R. H. Steinmetz .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS UMR 7139, Labo. Végétaux Marins et Biomolécules, Université Paris VI, place Georges Teissier, Roscoff CX, 29682, France

    J. Mark Cock

  2. Max F. Perutz Laboratories GmbH, Dr. Bohr-gasse 9/4, Wien, 1030, Austria

    Kristin Tessmar-Raible

  3. CNRS UMR 7139, Labo. Végétaux Marins et Biomolécules, Université Paris VI, place Georges Teissier, Roscoff CX, 29682, France

    Catherine Boyen

  4. Equipe Diversité et Connectivité dans le, Paysage Marin Côtier (DIV&CO), Université Paris VI, place Georges Teissier, Roscoff CX, 29682, France

    Frédérique Viard

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Raible, F., Steinmetz, P.R.H. (2010). Metazoan Complexity. In: Cock, J., Tessmar-Raible, K., Boyen, C., Viard, F. (eds) Introduction to Marine Genomics. Advances in Marine Genomics, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8639-6_5

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