GAREY, J.R.; Univ. of South Florida: Simulating DNA Evolution: application to genomic analysis The simulation of DNA evolution is a powerful tool that has been used in the past to evaluate the accuracy of various tree-making algorithms and to explore poorly understood phenomena such as long-branch attraction. One of the problems with previous DNA simulations […]

WOODIN, S.A.*; MERZ, R.A.; Univ. South Carolina, Columbia; Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania: Setal function, phylogeny, and lifestyle revelations among the worms The distinct and diverse morphology of polychaete setae and their orientations and distributions on the bodies of worms are both physical evidence of the relatedness of these worms and, depending on setal type, an indication […]

MCHUGH, Damhnait; Colgate University, Hamilton NY: Phylogenetic Analyses of Annelid Relationships Using Nuclear Coding Genes Developing a robust hypothesis of annelid relationships will inform us about the evolution of segmentation, whether the ancestral annelid was a burrowing form or a surface-dwelling crawler, and the identity of the closest living relative to the clitellates. It will […]

PURSCHKE, G.; M�LLER, M.C.M.; University of Osnabrueck, Germany; University of Osnabrueck, Germany: Evolution of Body Wall Musculature A body wall musculature comprising an outer layer of circular fibers and an inner layer of longitudinal fibers is generally seen as the basic plan in Annelida. Additional muscles may be present such as parapodial, chaetal, oblique and […]

VALLES, Y.; HALANYCH, K.; BOORE, J.; Univ. of Califonia, Berkeley / DOE Joint Genome Institute; Auburn Univ, Alabama; Univ. of Califonia, Berkeley / DOE Joint Genome Institute: Annelids in the Mist: The Influence of a New Marker Reconstructing character evolution for any group of organisms requires a robust phylogeny. Because of improvements in DNA sequencing […]

STRUCK, T.S.*; Auburn University, Auburn: Annelid rDNA phylogeny and implications for progenetic origins Annelids show a broad range of length from only a few hundred �m up to 6 m. Some small, meiofaunal polychaetes, such as Dinophilidae, some �Dorvilleidae� (e.g., Parapodrilus), Protodrilida, exhibit morphological simplicity in that they lack features typical of larger polychaetes, for […]

KRANNER, Ilse; Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Seed Conservation Department, Wakehurst Place: The lichen symbiosis – antioxidants confer desiccation tolerance Historically, and still today, the lichen symbiosis is often regarded as controlled parasitism to the benefit of the fungus. However, lichens have evolved a structure that neither fungus or alga can form by itself. This allows […]

CROWE, John H.; CROWE, Lois M.; TABLIN, Fern; Univ. of California, Davis; Univ. of California, Davis; Univ. of California, Davis: Stabilization of Dry Mammalian Cells: Lessons from Nature Trehalose is a sugar found at high concentrations in a wide variety of organisms that survive dehydration in nature. Over the past three decades we have shown […]

GOYAL, K.; BROWNE, J.A.; WALTON, L.J.; PINELLI, C.; RASTOGI, R.K.; BURNELL, A.M.; TUNNACLIFFE, A.*; University of Cambridge, UK; NUI Maynooth, Ireland; University of Cambridge, UK; University of Naples Federico II, Italy; University of Naples Federico II, Italy; NUI Maynooth, Ireland; University of Cambridge, UK; : Molecular anhydrobiology: identifying molecules implicated in invertebrate anhydrobiosis Studies in […]

FARRANT, JM; SEOIGHE, C; ILLING, N; University of Cape Town: Evolution of desiccation tolerance in vegetative tissues of angiosperms Evolution of desiccation tolerant (DT) pollen and seeds was an adaptation enabling successful land invasion by spermatophytes. Subsequently, DT in vegetative tissue of angiosperms (resurrection plants) is believed to have evolved independently on several occasions. We […]