Collaborative Research: Systematics and Evolution of Hemichordates

半足虫是一组海洋无脊椎动物，包括100多种独居和成群的蠕虫状生物。半足动物在脊索动物的进化起源假说中占有重要地位，因为它们是脊椎动物相对原始的近亲。由于它们的原始性，半足虫也提供了一个关键的比较群体，以了解脊椎动物的关键创新，如鳃缝和中空的神经索的进化。然而，半足虫还没有被深入研究过，而且这个群体内部的进化关系也没有被很好地理解。这项工作将使用基因组方法来鉴定基因，这将阐明半足动物之间的进化关系，并在更广泛的意义上阐明脊椎动物的进化史。这项研究的结果将提供对细胞、遗传和发育程序的更好理解，这些程序可能存在于导致脊索动物的祖先谱系中，并在脊椎动物进化史上被进化保守。了解半裸酸盐的进化是神经生物学、发育生物学和生理学等领域研究的核心，这项研究的结果将引起许多科学领域的广泛兴趣。该项目将支持从K-12到研究生院各级学生的培训。本科生，包括代表性不足群体的成员，将通过奥本大学、华盛顿大学和星期五港海洋实验室的课程参与该项目。该研究结果将通过在公立学校、网络媒体、生物入门教科书等进行的讲座进行宣传。

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.