The pre-congress course is aimed at students, professionals, teachers, and researchers interested in understanding recent advances in evolutionary theory. Its objective is to offer an integrated view of the paradigm shifts within this theory, highlighting the concepts and methods that evolutionary developmental biology contributes to explaining the origin and diversification of animal form. From this perspective, animal form does not result directly from random mutations in individual genes, but is regulated by gene regulatory networks (GRNs), whose architecture defines the generation of phenotypic variation and the emergence of morphological novelty through changes in their dynamics during development. The course combines a theoretical component with bioinformatics tools, especially the analysis of transcriptomic data in the context of the holobiont, understanding organisms as systems comprised of the host and its microbiota. Participants will analyze transcriptomes from different developmental stages of corals of the genus Acropora to evaluate the potential role of microorganisms in regulating development. Prior experience in bioinformatics is not required; it is ideal, but basic knowledge of evolutionary theory is not necessary.