Ultraconserved Elements and Machine Learning Classifiers Enable Robust Phylogenetics and Taxonomy in Model and Non-Model Nematodes.

ABSTRACT: Nematodes are among the most diverse animals, yet only around 28,000 of an estimated one million species have been morphologically described. Their small size, morphological simplicity, and cryptic diversity complicate phylogenetic analyses. Traditional morphological and single-locus molecular approaches often lack resolution for both recent and ancient divergences. To address these limitations, we developed the first ultraconserved elements (UCEs) probe sets for two nematode families: Panagrolaimidae, a group of non-model organisms with limited genomic resources when compared to model taxa, and Rhabditidae, which includes the model species Caenorhabditis elegans. Our probe sets targeted 1612 loci for Panagrolaimidae and 100,397 for Rhabditidae. In vitro testing recovered up to 1457 loci i

SUBMITTER: Villegas L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12550484 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature