Metazoan Phylogeny by rRNA Sequencing

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The evolutionary relationships among the major animal groups has been debated for centuries, but the advent of molecular sequencing techniques now affords a new and data-rich view of the problem. Dr. Rudolph Raff, a developmental biologist, has assembled a team of molecular biologists who will establish the RNA sequences for particular segments of the ribosomal genome in a variety of invertebrate phyla. They will concentrate their efforts on the pseudocoelomate and acoelomate worm phyla, the arthropods, and the cnidarians (corals, anemones). New techniques will be used for sampling genetic material from microbial organisms, and the sequence data will be analyzed using a variety of approaches. The proposed research will have wide impact on invertebrate zoologists and evolutionary biologists. The data resource to be amassed will be strutinized and re-analyzed by countless other researchers.