Morphology and gene expression in mid-embryogenesis are highly conserved across species of the same phylum. In nematodes, developmental constraints, rather than natural selection, explain how this pattern was established during evolution.
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Ellis, R. Evo-devo: Developmental constraints. Nat Ecol Evol 1, 0128 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0128
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0128