Molecular phylogenetics and evolutionary biology of Rotifera

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Olaf Bininda-Emonds
• Subject Area: Evolution, Anthropology
• Term: from 2010 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 182496217

Rotifers represent a diverse phylum of highly successful and ecologically important micrometazoans characterized by a variety of life history strategies and adaptive ecological traits. Despite this, they remain poorly investigated phylogenetically such that the evolution of this ecological diversity is unclear. The goals of the envisaged project are two-fold: 1) to produce the first comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Rotifera and 2) to use this phylogeny as a framework within which to investigate the evolution of rotifer life history strategies and key ecological traits. The phylogenetic analyses will build on previous restricted analyses for Rotifera, deriving a large number of novel sequences for species that have not previously been sequenced. Target genes include 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, and histone H3 and the “barcoding gene” MT-CO1 (cytochrome oxidase I). It is expected that the broadscale sequencing envisaged will clarify both contentious and unknown sets of relationships both among and within the major groups of Rotifera. With the resulting phylogeny in hand, it will be possible to test a diverse array of hypotheses including 1) the evolution of reproductive strategies with particular emphasis on miniaturization in the male sex (including its complete loss in Bdelloidea), 2) the evolution of sessility as well as planktonic and interstitial life styles, 3) the relative timing of adaptive radiation patterns in Rotifera and their relation to the invasion of novel environments and differential feeding strategies and 4) the possibility of selection favoring the evolution of distinct size classes. Importantly, many of these same hypotheses also apply to other groups of micrometazoans, meaning that the results will also be significant for understanding the biology of meiofauna in general.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Dr. Wilko H. Ahlrichs