Testing alternative phylogenies of the animal kingdom with qualitative molecular synapomorphies and a critical reappraisal of morphological characters

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Project objective

Attempts to reconstruct the phylogeny of the animal kingdom have focused on analyzing 18S rRNA/ DNA sequence data and morphological characters. However, despite the fact that 18S sequences have been obtained for all major animal groups there remain uncertainties about both gross topology and fine resolution of the metazoan phylogeny. A multitude of contemporary morphological cladistic studies have provided additional phylogenetic signal, but many controversies remain both between different morphological analyses and between morphological and molecular analyses. Additional independent phylogenetic data is urgently needed. First, we propose to search for qualitative hylogenetic markers comparing already-sequenced orthologous genes in different animals, and by cloning and sequencing required orthologs from new animal groups. To this end an already compiled data set of almost 600 aligned orthologous genes from a nematode, fly, human, and yeast will be systematically explored. Second, we will test conflicting phylogenetic signals present in different morphological data sets published to date by critically evaluating differences in adopted methodology and data quality of available studies. The results of these studies will provide valuable independent molecular data for assessing higher-level phylogenetic relationships within the animal kingdom, and for the first time a comprehensive assessment of the phylogenetic signal present in morphological characters.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• University of Cambridge · CambridgeCoordinatorUnited Kingdom

Links

• View on CORDIS