Collaborative Research: Resolving old questions in Mollusc phylogenetics with new EST data and developing general phylogenomic tools

软体动物是种类繁多的动物，大约20万个物种具有重要的经济和文化意义。使用传统方法辨别这一群体内的进化关系特别困难，但详细了解这种关系将有助于研究它们生物学的所有方面，并提供对一般进化原理的洞察。该项目将利用高通量DNA测序技术收集的新基因序列数据来解决软体动物的进化关系。这项研究将解决重要的进化问题，例如导致差异很大的身体平面进化的选择性因素，从蠕虫状软体动物到贝壳形式，再到高度修改的喷气推进头足类身体平面。此外，还将开发新的分析工具，以提高整个新兴系统基因组学领域的研究效率(利用全基因组信息研究生物进化关系)。这些工具将免费提供给科学界。该项目还将包括将通过哈佛自然历史博物馆的一系列讲座和定期播客系列将研究和教育结合在一起的外联部分。这些播客将在高中生物课上使用，对普通观众来说是易懂的，信息丰富的。

Molluscs are megadiverse animals, and the roughly 200,000 species are economically and culturally important. Discerning the evolutionary relationships within this group has been particularly difficult using traditional approaches, but a detailed understanding of such relationships would facilitate studies of all aspects of their biology and provide insight into general evolutionary principles. This project will resolve molluscan evolutionary relationships with new gene sequence data collected with high-throughput DNA sequencing technology. The research will resolve important evolutionary questions, such as the selective factors leading to the evolution of wildly disparate body plans, ranging from worm-like mollusks to shelled forms to the highly modified jet-propulsion body plan of cephalopods. In addition, new analytical tools will be developed that will improve the efficiency of research across the emerging field of phylogenomics (the use of genome-wide information for studying organismal evolutionary relationships). These tools will be made freely available to the scientific community. The project will also include outreach components that will integrate research and education through a series of lectures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History and a regular podcast series. The podcasts will be designed for use within high school biology classes, and understandable and informative to a general audience.