AToL: An Integrated Approach to the Phylogeny of Dinoflagellates

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

This project will substantially advance knowledge of the evolutionary history of the dinoflagellates, an important but understudied group of aquatic microorganisms. Major collaborators include Drs. Wayne Coats (Smithsonian Institution Environmental Research Center), and Senjie Lin (University of Connecticut), as well as international cooperation with Brian Leander (University of British Columbia) and Martin Head (Brock University). The central objective will be to sequence DNA from 100 or more species and to assemble a multi-gene database for comparative analyses to infer their phylogenetic (evolutionary) relationships. A second major objective will be to correlate fossil dinoflagellate cysts with living dinoflagellates that are represented in the molecular dataset. Care will be taken that the dataset includes a roughly proportional representation of both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic species. To do so will require a combination of techniques, sampling from a wide variety of environments, and application of modern cell-sorting and isolation techniques. Strains studied will be cultured whenever practical, and will be photographed, preserved, and their DNA archived. Dinoflagellates are environmentally and economically important protists found in both marine and freshwater environments. They include photosynthetic species that serve as an important source of food for plankton and other aquatic life, and are symbiotic with many tropical corals, clams, and other organisms. However, dinoflagellates can also at times be nuisance organisms, causing red tides, toxicity of certain sea-foods, fish kills, and a variety of other environmental and economic problems. They also are an extremely ancient lineage, comparable in age to the plant and animal kingdoms, and occupy an important location in the Tree of Life. An improved understanding of the phylogeny of dinoflagellates will be important to a wide variety of studies in human health, both marine and freshwater environmental science, and in comparative studies of cell biology and evolution. It will also help place the dinoflagellates in the broader context of the eukaryotes, and will make an important contribution toward the long-term goal of a well-resolved phylogeny that samples all groups of living things. This project will also involve considerable training opportunities at the postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate student levels, as well as outreach activities with K-12 teachers and students.