Project Details
Projekt
Molecular and structural characterization of photoreceptor cells in Lophotrochozoa in order to utilise the photosensitive system as comparative character for inferring metazoan interrelationships. II. Eyes and photoreceptors of Mollusca and Platyhelminthes
Subject Area
Evolution, Anthropology
Term
from 2005 to 2015
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5452242
Our project aims at the combined molecular and morphological characterisation of photophotoreceptor cells and eyes in molluscs, nemerteans, brachiopods and flatworms, to compare these to each other and to photosensitive systems in annelids. We will thus identify and explore useful characters for resolving the phylogeny of the Lophotrochozoa, which is a large and illdefined taxon of marine invertebrate animal groups. We plan to investigate opsin photopigment, shading pigment, specifying transcription factors as well as the ultrastructure of photoreceptor, pigment and support cells that constitute the diverse light-sensitive organs (ocelli, eyes and unpigmented organs). Selected species include gastropods, polyplacophorans representing molluscs, triclades and proseriates representing flatworms, palaeonemerteans and heteronemerteans representing nemerteans, and a brachiopod species, to complement our previous studies. We will focus on the identification of orthologous and paralogous opsin photopigment in the various groups, and how the distinct subfamilies of opsins distribute to the different types of photoreceptor cells, such as cililary and rhabdomeric photoreceptors. This will allow identifying lines of photoreceptor and eye evolution across lophotrochozoan phylogeny.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
Subproject of
SPP 1174:
Deep Metazoan Phylogeny
