deep homology

In 2010, Marcotte and colleagues identified an algorithm for identifying cases of deep homology based on phenotype.

The term deep homology was coined to describe the common origin of genetic regulatory apparatus used to build morphologically and phylogenetically disparate animal features.

In evolutionary developmental biology, the concept of deep homology is used to describe cases where growth and differentiation are controlled by genetic mechanisms that are homologous and deeply conserved across a wide range of species.

However, since all living organisms are related to some extent, even organs that appear to have little or no structural similarity, such as arthropod, squid and vertebrate eyes, or the limbs and wings of arthropods and vertebrates, can depend on a common set of homologous genes that control their assembly and function; this is called deep homology.