Exploring Novel Nuclear Protein-Coding Genes for use in Metazoan Molecular Phylogenetic Studies

南伊利诺伊大学的弗兰克·安德森博士获得了一笔拨款，用于利用从几个基因收集的信息来研究主要动物群体（也称为“门”，例如软体动物、环节动物和节肢动物）之间和内部的进化关系。尽管经过了一个多世纪的研究，动物门之间和门内的进化关系模式仍然很混乱。新的分子生物学技术允许进化生物学家比较来自生物体的基因，以帮助他们确定关系模式。不幸的是，很少有基因被用来研究动物门之间的关系。为了纠正这种情况，安德森博士提议评估13个以前未被研究过的基因，这些基因可能对研究动物关系有用。这些基因的DNA序列将被确定为代表所有主要动物门的50个标本，这些序列将用于重建这些群体之间和内部的关系。这项研究将增加可用于动物关系研究的基因数量。它还将提供动物家族树中神秘群体位置的信息，并作为使用几个基因进行动物进化大规模合作研究的第一步。这项研究将加强两名研究生和一名或多名本科生的教育，他们将接受无脊椎动物收集方法、标本鉴定和分子实验室技术方面的培训。这项研究也将构成至少一篇硕士论文的基础。除了在科学期刊上发表文章外，还将开发一个网站，以迅速传播协议和信息，作为学生和研究人员的资源。最后，研究结果将被纳入南伊利诺伊大学的无脊椎动物学和进化生物学课程。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Frank Anderson at Southern Illinois University to use information collected from several genes to study the evolutionary relationships among and within major groups of animals (also known as "phyla", e.g., mollusks, annelids and arthropods). Despite more than a century of research, the pattern of evolutionary relationships among and within the animal phyla remains confused. New molecular biological techniques allow evolutionary biologists to compare genes from organisms to help them determine patterns of relationship. Unfortunately, very few genes have been used to study relationships among the animal phyla. To remedy this situation, Dr. Anderson has proposed to evaluate thirteen previously unstudied genes that may be useful for investigations of animal relationships. DNA sequences of each of these genes will be determined for fifty specimens representing all major animal phyla, and these sequences will be used to reconstruct relationships among and within these groups.This research will increase the number of genes that can be used for studies of animal relationships. It will also yield information on the positions of enigmatic groups in the animal family tree, and serve as the first step in large-scale collaborative studies of animal evolution using several genes. The research will enhance the education of two graduate students and one or more undergraduates, who will receive training in invertebrate collection methods, specimen identification and molecular laboratory techniques. The research will also form the basis for at least one master's thesis. In addition to publications in scientific journals, a website will be developed to rapidly disseminate protocols and information, serving as a resource for both students and researchers. Finally, findings from the research will be incorporated into courses in invertebrate zoology and evolutionary biology at Southern Illinois University.