A comprehensive molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of Nemertea using a genome skimming approach

• Applicant: Dr. Christina Sagorny
• Subject Area: Systematics and Morphology (Zoology)
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 558290206

Understanding the evolutionary history and relationships within specific animal taxa requires the reconstruction of a stable phylogenetic backbone. Over the past few decades, there has been a transformative shift from traditional single gene sequencing to large-scale next-generation sequencing, which now enables the utilization of thousands of loci at a reduced cost. Despite these advancements, new techniques have not yet been adopted across all taxa, with especially marine invertebrates remaining vastly underrepresented. This is also true for ribbon worms or nemerteans as only little genomic data has been published so far. To date, nemerteans are hugely understudied, leaving many phylogenetic questions unanswered. This proposal uses nemerteans as a case-study to reconstruct a stable phylogeny incorporating 100 nemertean species and hundreds of genomic loci. For the first time, a comprehensive next generation sequencing approach based on genome skimming data will be employed to resolve the phylogeny of Nemertea. From these genome skims, mitochondrial genomes, single-copy orthologs, and protein-coding genes will be extracted to reconstruct the phylogeny. The proposed project aims to elucidate the evolutionary history and the phylogenetic relationships within this taxon. Furthermore, it will provide a robust foundation for describing and taxonomically positioning new nemertean species, particularly those collected from hard-to-access localities, such as the deep sea.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position