BIOCOMPLEXITY: Wormnet: Reconstructing The Early Evolution Of Segmented Annelid Worms

虫网：重建分段节段蠕虫的早期进化K. M. Halanych， M. Martindale， E. Seaver， D. McHugh和联合基因组研究所（J. Boore， D. Rokhsar）对后生动物系统发育的理解一直被对身体结构中分段的程度和性质的解释所混淆。特别是，通常被称为节段蠕虫的环节动物，一直是关于动物进化中节段作用的争论的中心。最近的证据表明，一些以前被认为是独立门的非节段或部分节段蠕虫类群也在环节动物辐射范围内。这些最近的结果与迄今为止唯一全面的环节动物系统发育分析相冲突，即Rouse和Fauchald（1997）的形态分析。此外，由于环节动物是进化最成功的“门”之一，并且它们在前寒武纪晚期到寒武纪早期多样化，因此了解它们的早期进化史对于理解动物生命的进化至关重要。这项工作有两个目标：1)基因组学方法将用于重建“环节动物”的早期系统发育事件，其中包括几个先前已知的门；2)功能基因组学技术将用于表征几个关键谱系的发育机制。在系统发育的背景下解释分节这一环节动物的标志，将使我们对动物进化过程中分节的作用和可塑性有新的认识。这个项目被称为“虫网”，因为它代表了一个由四个机构的研究人员组成的跨学科网络，以加强教育和外联活动的方式集中于这些目标。此外，该计划旨在快速启动主要后生动物分支Lophotrochozoa（环节动物，软体动物，lophophochozoa及其盟友）的其他领域的研究。公开可用的cDNA和基因组BAC文库将被制作出来，来自大约130个完全测序的线粒体基因组的数据将为群体遗传和系统研究提供所需的标记。考虑到环节动物是深海（覆盖地球的70%）中最丰富、最普遍的动物“门”，作为生物指示物，在生物修复中发挥作用，并且包括新兴的模式生物，了解它们进化的重要性不容低估。

WormNet: Reconstructing the early evolution of segmented annelid worms K. M. Halanych, M. Martindale, E. Seaver, D. McHugh, and the Joint Genome Institute (J. Boore, D. Rokhsar)EAR-0120646Understanding metazoan phylogeny has been confounded by interpretations of the degree and nature of segmentation in body plans. In particular, the Annelida, commonly called segmented worms, has been central to debates on the role of segmentation in animal evolution. Recent evidence suggests that several non-segmented or partially segmented worm taxa, that were previously regarded as separate phyla, are within the annelid radiation. These recent results conflict with the only comprehensive phylogenetic analyses to date on the annelids, the morphological analyses of Rouse and Fauchald (1997). Furthermore, because annelids are one of the most evolutionarily successful "phyla" and because they diversified in the late PreCambrian to early Cambrian, understanding their early evolutionary history is paramount to understanding the evolution of animal life. The proposed work has two goals: 1) Genomic approaches will be used to reconstruct the early phylogenetic events of the "Annelida", which includes several previously recognized phyla, and 2) Functional genomic techniques will be used to characterize the developmental mechanisms employed in segmentation in several key lineages. Interpreting the segmentation, a hallmark of annelids, in the context of the phylogeny will allow novel insights on the role and plasticity of segmentation during animal evolution. This project has been called "WormNet" because it represents an interdisciplinary network of researchers, at four institutions, focusing on these goals in a manner that enhances education and outreach activities. Additionally, this program is designed to jumpstart other areas of research in the major metazoan clade Lophotrochozoa (annelids, mollusks, lophophorates, and their allies). Publicly available cDNA and genomic BAC libraries will be produced, and data from approximately 130 completely sequenced mitochondrial genomes will provide needed markers for population genetic and systematic studies. Given that annelids are the most abundant and ubiquitous animal "phlyum" in the deep sea (which covers 70% of the planet), serve as bioindicators, have a role in bioremediation, and include up-and-coming model organisms, the importance of understanding their evolution cannot be understated.