Collaborative Research: Unraveling a Gordian knot: Biodiversity of Gordian worms, phylum Nematomorpha, in the New World

摘要：马毛虫是昆虫的寄生虫，但成虫在水生环境中自由生活。从生态学/行为学的角度来看，它们是迷人的，因为这些寄生虫改变了宿主的行为，导致最终宿主进入水中，在那里成虫被释放。由于马毛虫幼虫的形态鉴定存在问题，本文将采用一种新的分子方法来鉴定寄主中的马毛虫幼虫。这将有助于将幼年和成年阶段联系起来，对了解每个物种的生态和生活史至关重要。通过利用DNA和解剖学特征记录这些寄生虫的多样性和进化关系，这项拟议的研究也将大大增加我们对这些寄生虫的了解。这个项目将代表一个非常有趣的，系统发育的关键，但鲜为人知的门的研究的重大进展。这一结果可能会对我们理解外骨骼生物的进化产生影响，包括节肢动物门和线虫门的模式生物。它将包括三位早期职业科学家，并促进国际科学合作。研究生和本科生将在这个项目中扮演重要角色，从实地考察到出版和展示。信息将通过互联网网站（www.nematomorpha.net）、学术出版物以及针对K-12学生和大学教师的教育项目向科学家和公众提供。

Abstract Horsehair worms are parasites of insects, but are free-living in aquatic environments as adults. They are fascinating from an ecological/behavioral perspective, as these parasites modify host behavior, leading the definitive host to enter water, where the adult worms are released. Since morphological identification of horsehair worms larvae is problematic, a novel molecular approach will be used to identify larvae in hosts. This will facilitate linking the juvenile and adult stages, essential to understanding each species' ecology and life history. The proposed research will also greatly increase our understanding of these parasites by documenting their diversity and evolutionary relationships in the New World using DNA and anatomical characteristics. This project would represent a major advance in the study of a very interesting, phylogenetically key, but poorly known phylum. The results are likely to have an impact on our understanding of the evolution of exoskeleteon-bearing organisms, including model organisms in the phyla Arthropoda and Nematoda. It will involve three early career scientists and foster international scientific collaborations. Graduate and undergraduate students will have large roles in this project from fieldwork to publication and presentation. Information will be made available to scientists and the public through an internet website (www.nematomorpha.net), scholarly publications, and education programs targeting K-12 students and college-level instructors.