ATOL: Collaborative Research: An Integrated Approach to the Origin and Diversification of Protostomes

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A grant has been awarded to Drs. Elaine Seaver and Mark Q. Martindale of the University of Hawaii to investigate fundamental features of the development of pivotal representatives from the protostome branch of the tree of life. Prostostomes constitute more than one million of the 1.7 million extant described species of organisms, including familiar animals such as mollusks, insects, flatworms, roundworms, and many others of medical and economic importance. However, relationships among these groups are still highly debated, so the backbone of the animal tree of life cannot currently be proposed without a large degree of uncertainty. This proposal will integrate and disseminate the broadest possible collection of information on selected representative protostomes to address questions of their origin and evolution over more than 540 million years. In order to do this we will integrate anatomical data on extant and extinct fauna with developmental data using cell-lineage studies and broad-based genomic information. These data will be collected for a large pool of protostome species which will be studied at a level never before attempted in non-model organisms. The awarded grant will contribute to the training of students at different academic levels, emphasizing on those of underrepresented groups in science. Results will be disseminated to society through partnership with five of the most prominent natural history museums in the world, including the Harvard Museum of Natural History and the American Museum of Natural History in the USA, and the most important museums in Australia and Denmark. It is also the intention of the PI to publish an article in non-specialist scientific magazines for a broad lay audience.