A phylogenomic approach to resolving interrelationships of polyclad flatworms, with implications for life-history evolution.

ABSTRACT: Platyhelminthes (flatworms) are a diverse invertebrate phylum useful for exploring life-history evolution. Within Platyhelminthes, only two clades develop through a larval stage: free-living polyclads and parasitic neodermatans. Neodermatan larvae are considered evolutionarily derived, whereas polyclad larvae are hypothesized to be ancestral due to ciliary band similarities among polyclad and other spiralian larvae. However, larval evolution has been challenging to investigate within polyclads due to low support for deeper phylogenetic relationships. To investigate polyclad life-history evolution, we generated transcriptomic data for 21 species of polyclads to build a well-supported phylogeny for the group. The resulting tree provides strong support for deeper nodes, and we recover a new m

SUBMITTER: Goodheart JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10049750 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature