Echinoderm conundrums: Hox genes, heterochrony, and an excess of mouths

Two issues relating to the translocation of anterior Hox genes in echinoderms to the 5’ end of the Hox cluster are discussed: i) that developmental changes associated with fixation to the substratum have led to an acceleration of mesodermal development relative to that of ectoderm, resulting in a mismatch of anteroposterior registry between the two tissues and a larger role for mesoderm in patterning control, and ii) whether this helps explain the ability of some echinoderms to form separate mouths at different locations, one for the larva and one for the juvenile rudiment. Freeing the mesoderm from ectodermal influences may have encouraged morphogenetic innovation, paralleling the situation in tunicates, where an early genomic (or genomic and developmental) change has allowed the body to evolve in novel ways.