PASSAMANECK, Y.J.; Weill Medical College of Cornell University: Mitochondrial genome of the bryozoan Membranipora membranacea and its phylogenetic implications.

The current study has sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of the cheilostome bryozoan Membranipora membranacea. The Bryozoa are of particular interest to investigations on higher level metazoan evolution, as their phylogenetic position remains among the most uncertain of all metazoan phyla. Studies of ribosomal and Hox gene sequences have suggested the bryozoans to be closely related to other lophotrochozoans, possibly representing a basally divergent lineage. However, given current uncertainty regarding the order of relationships within the Lophotrochozoa, the position of the Bryozoa bares further investigation. Phylogenetic analyses of the Membranipora mitochondrial genome are presented, based upon both mitochondrial gene order and primary sequence data.