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SUMMARY:Isolated branches in the phylogeny of Platyhelminthes - Christophe
 r Laumer (EMBL-EBI and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute)
DTSTART:20160427T120000Z
DTEND:20160427T130000Z
UID:TALK63367@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Marcia Kishida
DESCRIPTION:Flatworms number among the most diverse invertebrate phyla and
  represent the most biomedically significant branch of the major bilateria
 n clade Spiralia\, but to date\, deep evolutionary relationships within th
 is group have been studied using only a single locus (the rRNA operon)\, l
 eaving the origins of many key groups unclear. In this study\, using a sur
 vey of genomes and transcriptomes representing all free-living flatworm or
 ders\, we provide resolution of platyhelminth interrelationships based on 
 hundreds of nuclear protein-coding genes\, exploring phylogenetic signal t
 hrough concatenation as well as recently developed consensus approaches. T
 hese analyses robustly support a modern hypothesis of flatworm phylogeny\,
  one which corroborates several long-held morphological hypotheses which h
 ad not previously seen support in molecular studies (e.g. Trepaxonemata\, 
 Cercomeromorpha)\, several hypotheses also found in rRNA studies (e.g. Eun
 eoophora\, Adiaphanida)\, and several hypotheses not previously discussed 
 (e.g. a sister-group relationship between Prorhynchida and Polycladida). P
 erhaps most notably\, these data also introduce a novel scenario for the i
 nterrelationships between free-living flatworms and the vertebrate-parasit
 ic Neodermata\, providing new opportunities to shed light on the origins a
 nd biological consequences of parasitism in these iconic invertebrates. We
  also present evidence for previously unrecognized deep phylogenetic diver
 sity within the clade Adiaphanida\, showing that the enigmatic crustacean-
 parasitic genus Genostoma\, previously considered a member of Fecampiida\,
  represents its own deeply branching lineage. Finally\, using a related RN
 A-seq based phylogenetic datset spanning the diversity of protostomes\, we
  recover evidence for a sister-group relationship between Platyhelminthes 
 and Gastrotricha\, and for a placement of this clade as well as the simila
 rly meiofaunal clade Gnathifera as separate early branches within Spiralia
 . We conclude with a synoptic discussion of the status of deep flatworm ph
 ylogeny to date\, highlighting those areas of the tree most in need of con
 tinued investigation\, and emphasizing the crucial role of continued morph
 ological and developmental research in testing and ultimately conferring b
 iological meaning to the tree topology encoded in the genomes of these rem
 arkable invertebrate animals.
LOCATION:Part II Lecture Theatre\, Department of Zoology
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