Priapulus caudatus Transcriptome or Gene expression. Priapulus caudatus

The priapulids are a member of the major group of animal phyla called the Ecdysozoa along with other animals that moult their cuticles (Ecdysis) including the arthropods and nematodes. Their precise relationships to the other ecdysozoan phyla is uncertain but their closest relatives are likely to be the minute marine phyla the Loricifera and Kinorohyncha. Sequencing Priapulus caudatus will help us better understand the composition of the transcriptome and proteome at different evolutionary nodes within the Ecdysozoa, and to ultimately reconstruct the genome of the ancestral Ecdysozoan. These data will improve the annotation and interpretation of the genomes of the Ecdysozoan genetic model systems, Drosophila melanogaster and C.elegans. In turn, this will improve our understanding of the evolution and function of genes that are found in other organisms, including humans. Finally, the data will also help us understand macroevolutionary mechanisms, and will be particularly useful in investigating the evolution of development.