Abstract
Expressed sequence tag analyses of the annelid Pomatoceros lamarckii, recently published in BMC Evolutionary Biology, are consistent with less extensive gene loss in the Lophotrochozoa than in the Ecdysozoa, but it would be premature to generalize about patterns of gene loss on the basis of the limited data available.See research article http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/9/240.
Highlights
The pioneers of pyrosequencing have a lot to answer for
It is clear that this ancestor of all bilateral animals had a genome resembling that of a modern vertebrate, but which contained some genes lost from modern vertebrates, raising the issue of just how many genes were present in the ancestor
expressed sequence tag (EST) studies on lophotrochozoans, such as that reported in a recent paper in BMC Evolutionary Biology [1], are proving informative
Summary
The pioneers of pyrosequencing have a lot to answer for. The availability of ‘ generation’ DNA sequencers has provided zoologists with unforeseen opportunities to address many basic evolutionary issues and, for those of us whose interests lie beyond the model organisms, these are interesting times. It is clear that this ancestor of all bilateral animals had a genome resembling that of a modern vertebrate, but which contained some genes lost from modern vertebrates, raising the issue of just how many genes were present in the ancestor. Data from the two species lead to the same conclusion, that annelids (and perhaps lophotrochozoans in general) are less derived than the insects and nematodes investigated so far.
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