Phylogenomics, Revisionary Systematics, and Evolution of the Visual Systems in Dragonflies and Damselflies (Insecta: Ononata)

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Dragonflies and damselflies belong to a primitive insect group that occupies a key point in the evolution of insects. They were among the first insects to gain wings, have an excellent fossil record, have the most acute vision of any insect, and are the focus for many speciation and conservation studies. Despite the importance of these insects as a study group, there is no comprehensive phylogeny depicting the evolutionary relationships among these insects. By using anatomical information gathered from fossil and living dragonflies and damselflies in combination with DNA data gathered by harnessing the power of next generation sequencing technologies, this research will produce the first comprehensive phylogeny for this group. This phylogeny will become the foundation for all future research on these insects, including the discovery and description of new species. In addition, this work will focus on deciphering the genes associated with visual systems in these insects, and results from this research will allow scientists to better understand how visual systems evolve. Several minority undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral researchers will be trained in cutting edge DNA sequencing technology. All personnel will work to convey our research to the general public via a museum exhibit focused on dragonfly diversity and the evolution of their visual systems. We will also use Internet websites devoted to earth's biodiversity (e.g., Encyclopedia of life and Morphbank) to provide the general public and the scientific community with detailed information regarding both fossil and living dragonflies and damselflies. This research will push evolutionary biology forward by innovations in working with fossils, the development of new molecular tools to capture, sequence and characterize genes, and exciting insights that will provide a more in-depth understanding of the evolution of visual systems.