"Insights of early chordate genomics: endocrinology and development in amphioxus, tunicates and lampreys": introduction to the symposium.

This symposium focused on the evolution of chordate genomes, in particular, those events that occurred before the appearance of jawed vertebrates. The aim was to highlight insights that have come from the genome sequences of jawless chordates (lampreys, tunicates, and amphioxus) not only into evolution of chordate genomes, but also into the evolution of the organism. To this end, we brought together researchers whose recent work on these organisms spans the gap from genomics to the evolution of body forms and functions as exemplified by endocrine systems and embryonic development.
(© The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved.)