Comparative genomics to unravel the metazoan “genetic starter kit”. Our goal is to elucidate the evolutionary history of genes that are key for animal development and multicellularity. To this aim, we are part of the UNICORN (UNICellular Opisthokonts Research iNitiative) initiative: an international and multi-taxon genome project recently funded by NHGRI (National Institute for Human Genome Research), which aims to gain insights into how multicellularity first evolved in both animals and fungi. UNICORN will obtain the genome sequence from several of the most closest relatives of both multicellular animals and fungi, including both Capsaspora owczarzaki and Sphaeroforma arctica (see http://www.genome.gov/10002154). This work has already shown that Capsaspora express several genes that are required to metazoan development, such as protein tyrosine kinases, integrins and several transcription factors (i.e, T-box genes).
Unraveling the ancestral function of genes relevant to animal multicellularity. The aim is to unravel the ancestral function of the cell-signaling and cell-adhesion genes that are crucial for animal development. By the comparative genomic analyses we have identified some homologs of these important genes (e.g. integrins, receptor tyrosine kinases, T-box genes) in Capsaspora. We want to understand what roles are those genes playing in the unicellular Capsaspora and how they were later on co-opted to the new functions in metazoans. These should provide insights into the role that cell-signaling and cell-adhesion genes played in the origin of Metazoa.
Phylogenomics. If we want to approach the evolution of multicellular animals, we need a robust phylogenetic framework of the opisthokonts (i.e., the clade that comprises Metazoa, Fungi and their closes unicellular lineages). Thus, among our goals is to obtain new molecular data (protein-coding genes, RNAseq, etc..) in order to perform phylogenetic and phylogenomic analyses to improve the opisthokont (or the eukaryote) tree of life. For example, using single-copy protein domains rather than genes, we have recently shown that apusozoans (and not the amoebozoans) are the sister-group to the opisthokonts and that the ichthyosporeans are the sister-group to a clade formed by filastereans, choanoflagellates and metazoans.
Biodiversity of Opisthokonts. We want to understand the real diversity of opisthokonts lineages. To this end, we are analyzing data from environmental samplings. Our aim is to isolate and culture novel protists within this part of the eukaryotic tree.
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