EVONEO-2 aims at framing neogastropod biology in an evolutionary perspective, by defining a solid DNA-based phylogeny and integrating for the first time molecular and anatomical data. Preliminary results of EVONEO-1 (2016) funded by Sapienza have already provided data upon which a proposal to NSF (USA) has been submitted by a collaborative team including the PI. Additional samples collected during EVONEO-1 are available for EVONEO-2 allowing to remarkably enlarge the coverage without the cost of fieldtrip.
Why neogastropods? Neogastropods are extremely diversified marine prosobranchs (>12,000 species from all oceans; >300 species in Mediterranean), mostly carnivores, with a range of exceptional predatory specializations.
Relevance to Biology- Excellent experimental models in all fields of Biology, from baseline to applied research. Adequate knowledge of their evolutionary biology is highly demanded, particularly the phylogenetic and ecological dimensions, but a phylogenetic framework for the Neogastropoda is still missing. This is goal of EVONEO.
Background- PI co-authored the first DNA-based phylogenetic hypothesis for the neogastropods, showing that wider taxonomic and genetic sampling may significantly improve resolution. With EVONEO-1 we have assembled transcriptomic NGS data from some species to identify last generation markers for phylogenetics.
Aims- EVONEO-2¿s primary aim is to complete a solid phylogenetic framework, mostly DNA based, for neogastropod biology, integrated by anatomical data, based on the largest amount of samples worldwide.
The project- We will identify new markers by NGS exon capture to: test the monophyly of neogastropods and of their major lineages; identify the most probable caenogastropod sister-group; define a reliable molecular phylogeny for the neogastropod families; analyse in this framework the evolution of anatomical and biological features, particularly of those involved in the diversification of feeding strategies.
