Détails de la réservation
- Le : 8 January 2019
- De : 14 h 00
- à : 16 h 00
- Salle : Salle de conférence
Détails de l'évènement
Conférence de Warren Francis :
"Comparative genomics of placozoans, the loneliest phylum"
Résumé
Placozoans are a phylum of non-bilaterian marine animals currently represented by a single described species, Trichoplax adhaerens. Placozoans arguably show the simplest animal morphology, which is identical among isolates collected worldwide, despite an apparently sizeable genetic diversity within the phylum. Here we use comparative genomics approach for a deeper appreciation of the structure and causes of the deeply diverging lineages in the Placozoa. We generated a high-quality draft genome of the genetic lineage H13 isolated from Hong Kong and compared it to the distantly related T. adhaerens. We uncovered substantial structural differences between the two genomes that point to a deep genomic separation. We furthermore provide genetic evidence for reproductively isolated species and suggest genus level difference of H13 to T. adhaerens. The synthesis of our results justifies the designation of H13 as a new species, Hoilungia hongkongensis, now the second described placozoan species and the first in a new genus. Our multi-level comparative genomics approach might prove valuable for species distinctions in other microscopic animal groups with cryptic diversity and lack of morphological diagnostics, such as some nematodes, copepods, rotifers, or mites.
Responsable
- Nom : Groppi Alexis