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

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A grant has been awarded to Dr. Ward Wheeler and Dr. Rob DeSalle of the American Museum of Natural History to assemble the basic backbone of the protostome tree of life, which includes all triploblastic animals except those directly related to vertebrates. Protostomes constitute more than one million of the 1.7 million named species of living 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 contentious, 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. Those 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 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.