REVSYS: Killer Snails---Killer Diversity: Biodiversity and Systematics of Conus, the Largest Marine Invertebrate Genus

摘要：DEB-0316338一笔赠款已授予华盛顿大学的艾伦·科恩博士，以改善和现代化的分类和系统学的一个异常多样的以及生态和生物医学上重要的海洋蜗牛群体。芋螺是海洋动物中最大的一个属，全世界热带和亚热带海域有500多种芋螺。因此，它是海洋生物多样性的主要贡献者，但它在识别和分类方面提出了许多挑战。该项目将使用现代分子测序和解剖特征的定量分析进行分类，并将阐明芋螺快速多样化的历史。它将建立一个网站，为所有物种提供内容广泛、图文并茂的条目，并将增加获得印刷和电子媒体结果的机会。将修订工作扩展到人们知之甚少的大西洋芋螺动物群，将产生一个关于西大西洋芋螺的专题论文，以Kohn博士及其同事1995年关于印度-太平洋物种的论文为蓝本。除了对一般海洋生物多样性的重要性外，芋螺还值得注意的是，许多非常相似的物种-多达36种-共同出现在同一个珊瑚礁上。对这些组合的生态研究有助于说明为什么热带珊瑚礁相关的栖息地支持如此高的生物多样性。所有的芋螺物种都能产生一种叫做芋螺毒素的强力毒液，用来制服猎物。这些芋螺毒素现在被广泛用于神经生物学，并且从它们衍生的药物的数量正在迅速增加。目前至少有三种正在使用，超过45项医疗用途专利已被授予。许多相似的物种中的每一个都有特定的生态特征以及自己的一套毒液，准确的物种确定对于基础科学和应用领域都是必不可少的，但这是困难的。该项目将有助于了解进化史，并将促进生态学，地理学，进化，神经生物学和医学的研究。

Abstract: DEB-0316338A grant has been awarded to Dr. Alan Kohn of the University of Washington to improve and modernize the classification and systematics of an unusually diverse as well as ecologically and biomedically important group of marine snails. Conus, with more than 500 species worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas, is the largest genus of marine animals. It is thus a major contributor to biodiversity in the sea, but it presents many challenges in identification and classification. The project will use both modern molecular sequencing and quantitative analysis of anatomical features in classification and will elucidate the history of rapid diversification of Conus. It will create a website with extensive, illustrated entries for all species and will enhance access to the results in print as well as electronic media. Extending revisionary work to the poorly understood Atlantic Conus fauna will produce a monograph on Western Atlantic Conus, modeled on the 1995 volume on Indo-Pacific species by Dr. Kohn and colleagues.In addition to its importance for general marine biodiversity, Conus is notable in that many very similar species-up to 36-co-occur on the same coral reef. Ecological studies of these assemblages have helped show why tropical reef-associated habitats support such high biodiversity. All Conus species produce potent venoms called conotoxins used to subdue prey. These conotoxins are now widely used in neurobiology, and the number of medicines derived from them is increasing rapidly. At least three are in current use, and more than 45 patents for medical uses have been awarded. Each of the many similar species has specific ecological characteristics as well as its own suite of venoms, and accurate species determination is essential to both basic scientific and applied fields, but it is difficult. This project will help understand evolutionary history and will facilitate research in ecology, biogeography, evolution, neurobiology, and medicine.