Elongation Factor 1-Alpha Sequences Do Not Support an Early Divergence of the Acoela
Open accessAbstract
The phylogenetic position of the Acoela is a key problem in the understanding of metazoan evolution. Recent studies based on 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences have placed the Acoela in an extremely basal position as the sister group to all other extant triploblastic animals, suggesting that the phylum Platyhelminthes is polyphyletic. In order to test the results obtained with 18S rDNA, we sequenced elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1a) for the acoel Convoluta roscoffensis and five species of Turbellaria (two polyclads, Leptoplana tremellaris, and Prostheceraeus vittatus, and three triclads, Crenobia alpina, Schmidtea polychroa, and Girardia tigrina). Phylogenetic analyses of EF1a sequences show that the acoel sequences branch within the Platyhelminthes, in opposition to the 18S rDNA data. Moreover, comparison of the central variable region of EF1a shows similar sequence signatures between C. roscoffensis and the three triclad species. Although EF1a sequences fail to prove the monophyly of the phylum Platyhelminthes, they do not confirm the early divergence of the Acoela.
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Further analyses of rDNA phylogeny, Hox gene sequences, and morphology place flatworms within lophotrochozoa and acoels within flatworms.
“However, much further analysis of rDNA phylogeny as well as of Hox gene sequences and of morphological characters clearly places the flatworms within the lophotrochozoa, and the acoels within the flatworms (Adoutte, 2000;Berney et al., 2000;Littlewood et al., 2001;Peterson and Eernisse, 2001).”
From The last common bilaterian ancestor (2002) · cites this paper as Berney et al., 2000
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Peterson, K. J., & Eernisse, D. J. (2001) · Evolution & Development · doi:10.1046/j.1525-142x.2001.003003170.x · Cited by 529 · see citing works
The new animal phylogeny: Reliability and implications
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The last common bilaterian ancestor
Erwin, D. H., & Davidson, E. H. (2002) · Development · doi:10.1242/dev.129.13.3021 · Cited by 320 · see citing works
- Authors
- Berney, C., Pawlowski, J., & Zaninetti, L.
- Affiliations
- University of Geneva (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Pawlowski, Jan
- ORCID
- Berney, Cédric
- Venue
- Molecular Biology and Evolution
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2000-07-01
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1032-1039
- ISSN
- 0737-4038 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-1719
- OpenAlex
- W2035029128
- Cited by
- 58
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 8.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Molecular Biology and Evolution (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Invertebrate Taxonomy and Ecology
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protist diversity and phylogeny
- Keywords
- Acoela, elongation factor 1-alpha, Turbellaria, Platyhelminthes, metazoan phylogeny, 18S rDNA, Tricladida, polyclads, Girardia tigrina, Crenobia alpina, Schmidtea polychroa
- MeSH terms
- Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Base Sequence, Cloning, Molecular, Molecular Sequence Data, Phylogeny, Platyhelminths, RNA, Ribosomal, 18S, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid, DNA Primers, Peptide Elongation Factor 1
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