Collaborative Research: Molecular Phylogenetics of the Globally Distributed Polychaete, Polydora cornuta

University Of Tampa, Tampa FL

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract DEB-03219424/0317890 A grant has been awarded to Dr. Stephen Karl of University of South Florida and Stanley Rice of the University of Tampa to uncover evolutionary relationships among global populations of the polychaete worm, Polydora cornuta using DNA sequence data from the mitochondrially encoded cytochrome oxidase c subunit I gene (COI). The goal is to determine whether populations are genetically distinct (and therefore may be separate species) or are in fact a single species with world-wide distribution. Samples will be collected intensively around North America (particularly the east coast) and from the Caribbean, Europe, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Once a global phylogeny of P. cornuta populations is determined, the data can be used to develop of a model marine system for the study of gene flow and speciation. Ultimately, the study will lead to a better understanding of mechanisms of speciation in the sea and how reproductive incompatibility, genetic divergence, and morphological variation are interrelated.