New Approaches in Chordate and Vertebrate Evolution and Development

  • 20k

    Total downloads

  • 121k

    Total views and downloads

Download PDFDownload EPUB

Submit your idea

Select the journal/section where you want your idea to be submitted:

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

Consisting of three lineages - cephalochordates (amphioxus), tunicates and vertebrates (including us, humans)-, the monophyletic group of chordate animals is defined by the presence, at some stage of their life cycle, of a set of unique and conserved morphological features: a dorsal hollow nerve cord with a notochord just ventral to it, pharyngeal slits and a post-anal tail. Moreover, the last common ancestor of chordates likely possessed a segmented muscular system along the main body axis. Despite these conserved synapomorphies, chordates have largely diversified since their origin around 600 million years ago, especially vertebrates, one of the most successful animal groups on our planet. The evolution of a myriad of morphological novelties are behind chordate and vertebrate diversification since they permitted the adaptation of new species to a vast range of ecological niches (e.g., paired limbs, jaws).

Two evolutionary processes are particularly relevant to chordate evolution: the formation of the chordate body plan, and the origin of vertebrate traits. Traditionally, developmental biology and genetics have relied on the use of a handful of model animals (mostly jawed vertebrates like mouse, chicken, frog and fish), offering a very shallow taxonomic depth to tackle these two points. Although evolutionary developmental (evo-devo) studies soon attempted to increase the taxon sampling, these were impaired by the lack of advanced techniques readily available to assay emerging model animals. Consequently, most of the early molecular genetics’ studies in the field of chordate evo-devo consisted on the analysis of a single or a limited number of genes in few species. Therefore, and despite their importance, the mechanisms underlying the origin and evolution of both ancestral traits and morphological novelties of chordates have remained largely elusive. However, the recent surge and exponential growth of genome assemblies available from a wider taxonomic range, together with the availability of the most recent technological innovations in genome editing and whole genome scale high throughput expression and regulation analysis are quickly changing this scenario, with promising expectations in solving some of the long-standing chordate evo-devo questions.

This Research Topic aims to gather a broad selection of Original Research, Review and Perspective articles in chordate and vertebrate evo-devo, introducing multidisciplinary and integrative approaches that, by using the most recent state-of-the-art technologies in genomics, molecular biology, imaging and bioinformatics, among other fields, are contributing towards a better understanding of the mechanistic basis of the chordate phenotypic diversity. Researchers working on chordate evolution from any perspective are welcome to submit articles to this collection, which may involve one or more of the following topics:
• Emergent animal models in chordate and vertebrate evo-devo studies.
• Phylogenomics, comparative morphology, paleontology and quantitative approaches aiming at describing the phenotypic diversity of chordates and vertebrates.
• Comparative genomics/epigenomics and chordate genome architecture: gene and whole genome duplications and karyotype evolution; programmed chromatin rearrangements and elimination; gene loss; evolution of regulatory landscapes, spatial topology, etc.
• Functional genomics approaches using new genome editing technologies (CRISPR-Cas9, TALENs, etc.) in chordate models.
• Single-cell sequencing and cell type evolution addressing evolution of chordate complex traits.

Keywords: Chordates, Vertebrates, Evo-Devo, Morphological Evolution, Genomic Evolution

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Participating Journals

Impact

  • 121kTopic views
  • 97kArticle views
  • 20kArticle downloads
View impact