Collaborative Research: Systematics and Evolution of Hemichordates

最后修改日期：07/22/08最后修改人：Richard M.麦考特 摘要半索动物是一组海洋无脊椎动物，包括100多种独居和群居的蠕虫状生物。半脊索动物在脊索动物进化起源的假说中占有重要地位，因为它们是脊椎动物相对原始的亲属。由于半索动物的独特性，它们也为理解脊椎动物关键创新的进化提供了一个关键的比较群体，例如鳃裂和中空的神经索。然而，半索动物尚未被深入研究，并且该群体内的进化关系也没有得到很好的理解。拟议的工作将使用基因组方法来确定基因，将阐明半索动物之间的进化关系，并在更广泛的意义上澄清脊椎动物的进化历史。这项研究的结果将提供一个更好的理解细胞，遗传和发育程序，可能存在于祖先的血统，导致脊索动物，并已在脊椎动物进化史上进化保守。了解半索动物的进化是从神经生物学到发育生物学再到生理学等领域研究的核心，这项研究的结果将对许多科学领域产生广泛的兴趣。该项目将支持从K-12到研究生院的各级学生的培训。包括代表性不足群体成员在内的本科生将通过奥本大学、华盛顿大学和星期五港海洋实验室的校园课程参与该项目。这项研究将通过在公立学校的讲座、基于网络的渠道和介绍性生物教科书来宣传。

Last Modified Date: 07/22/08 Last Modified By: Richard M. McCourt Abstract Hemichordates are a group of marine invertebrates comprising over 100 species of solitary and colonial wormlike creatures. Hemichordates have figured prominently in hypotheses of the evolutionary origins of chordates because they are relatively primitive relatives of vertebrate animals. Because of their primitiveness, hemichordates also provide a key comparison group to understand the evolution of key innovations of vertebrates, such as gill slits and a hollow nerve chord. However, hemichordates have not been studied in depth, and evolutionary relationships within the group are not well understood. The proposed work will use genomic approaches to identify genes that will elucidate evolutionary relationships among the hemichordates and clarify the evolutionary history of the vertebrates in a broader sense. Results of this research will provide a greater understanding of cellular, genetic, and developmental programs that were likely present in the ancestral lineage that led to chordates and have been evolutionarily conserved during vertebrate evolutionary history. Understanding hemichordate evolution is central to research in fields ranging from neurobiology to developmental biology to physiology, and the results of this research will be of wide interest to many fields of science. The project will support training of students at various levels from K-12 to graduate school. Undergraduates, including members of underrepresented groups, will participate in the project through courses on the campuses of Auburn University, the University of Washington, and the Friday Harbor marine laboratories. The research will be publicized through talks to public schools, web-based outlets, and introductory biology textbooks.