Mitochondrial genome data support the basal position of acoelomorpha and the polyphyly of the platyhelminthes
- LBNL Library
We determined 9.7, 5.2, and 6.8 kb, respectively, of the mitochondrial genomes of the acoel Paratomella rubra, the nemertodermatid Nemertoderma westbladi and the free-living rhabditophoran platyhelminth Microstomum lineare. The identified gene arrangements are unique among metazoans, including each other, sharing no more than one or two single gene boundaries with a few distantly related taxa. Phylogenetic analysis of the amino acid sequences inferred from the sequenced genes confirms that the acoelomorph flatworms (acoels + nemertodermatids) do not belong to the Platyhelminthes, but are, instead, the most basal extant bilaterian group. Therefore, the Platyhelminthes, as traditionally constituted, is a polyphyletic phylum.
- Research Organization:
- Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Director. Office of Science. Office of Biological and Environmental Research; Consell Interdepartamental de Recerca i Innovacio Tecnologica Grants 1999SGR-0026 and 2001SGR-00102, Direccion General de Investigacion Ciencia y Tecnica Grant PB97-0937, Universitat de Barcelona Predoctoral Grant (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098
- OSTI ID:
- 836972
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL--55409
- Journal Information:
- Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Journal Name: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 33
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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