MAYDEN, R. L.*; CONWAY, K.; CHAMBERLAIN, S.; HASKINS, M.; SCHNEIDER, L.; SUDKAMP, M.; TANG, K; WOOD, R. M.; Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri: Phylogenetic Relationships of Danio within the Order Cypriniformes: A Framework for Comparative and Evolutionary Studies of a Model Species.

The evolutionary relationships of species of Danio and the monophyly and phylogenetic placement of the genus within the Family Cyprinidae and Subfamily Rasborinae forms fundamentally important phyloinformatics for necessary for direct evaluations of an array of pertinent questions in modern comparative biology. While the genus is not one of the most diverse within the family, historical decisions have made this group and Danio rerio as one of the most important biological models in some areas of biology. Many investigations across the breadth of biological sciences have used this species or presumed close relatives to address specific questions that can have lasting impact on the hypothesis and theory development in vertebrates. Largely lacking from this picture has been a holistic picture of the exact phylogenetic or evolutionary relationships of this species, the genus, and presumed close relatives. If there is one thing that the previous century did learn in comparative biology it was that many organismal attributes, pathways, ecologies, behaviors, speciation, etc. of species are historically constrained and their origins and functions are best explained via a historical or phylogenetic context. Herein, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of the phylogenetic placement of the model species Danio rerio within Danio and many of the hypothesized closely related species and genera. Our analysis is derived from two nuclear genes (Rag 1, S7) and three mitochondrial genes (ND4-5, CO1, Cyt b) evaluated using maximum parsimony and Bayesian analyses. This effort is part of a much larger targeted Cypriniformes Tree of Life Initiative (www.cypriniformes.org).