The evolution of…

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Project title:

The evolution of Endopterygota - reconstructing the phylogeny of the most successful lineage of organisms with phylogenomic and morphological data

ZFMK Project lead:

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof

Unit:

Directorate, Chair Systematic Zoology, Directorate Staff, Hymenoptera, Graduate School (GBR)

Object of research:

Endopterygota

Description

We try to reconstruct a robust backbone tree of holometabolous insects based on extensive transcriptome/genome data. With our transcriptome data we cover all orders within these group of insects and optimize the procedures of tree inference based on these data. Additionally, Rolf Beutel's group is providing extensive 3D morphological data of head, thorax and abdominal structures. Together we are working on the most extensive morphological and molecular data addressing the above mentioned phylogenetic questions. Within this project we have also started to specifically address the "Strepsiptera"-problem. A phylogenetic open question which has remained elusive for the last decades. In order to answer the question, we sequenced a complete genome of a newly described strepsipteran species and engaged in a comparative analyses of holometabolous genomes. This work is again conducted together with Rolf Beutel's group in Jena. Dr. Karen Meusemann, Dr. Oliver Niehuis, Malte Petersen (all zmb), Dr. Ralph Peters (ZFMK, Section Hymenoptera) are deeply involved in this project.