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

软体动物是一种巨大多样性的动物，大约20万种软体动物在经济和文化上都很重要。使用传统的方法来辨别这一群体内的进化关系特别困难，但对这种关系的详细了解将有助于研究其生物学的各个方面，并提供对一般进化原则的见解。本项目将利用高通量DNA测序技术收集的新基因序列数据来解析软体动物的进化关系。这项研究将解决重要的进化问题，例如导致完全不同的身体计划进化的选择性因素，从蠕虫状软体动物到有壳形式，再到头足类动物高度改进的喷气推进身体计划。此外，还将开发新的分析工具，以提高新兴生物基因组学（利用全基因组信息研究生物进化关系）领域的研究效率。这些工具将免费提供给科学界。该项目还将包括外联部分，通过在哈佛自然历史博物馆举办一系列讲座和定期播客系列，将研究和教育结合起来。播客将被设计用于高中生物课，并为普通观众提供可理解和信息。

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.