Comparison of articulate brachiopod nuclear and mitochondrial gene trees leads to a clade-based redefinition of protostomes (Protostomozoa) and deuterostomes (Deuterostomozoa)

Cohen, B.L., Stark, S., Gawthrop, A.B., Burke, M.E. and Thayer, C.W. (1998) Comparison of articulate brachiopod nuclear and mitochondrial gene trees leads to a clade-based redefinition of protostomes (Protostomozoa) and deuterostomes (Deuterostomozoa). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences, 265(1395), pp. 475-482. (doi: 10.1098/rspb.1998.0319)

Abstract

Nuclear and mtDNA sequences from selected short-looped terebratuloid (terebratulacean) articulate brachiopods yield congruent and genetically independent phylogenetic reconstructions by parsimony, neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood methods, suggesting that both sources of data are reliable guides to brachiopod species phylogeny. The present-day genealogical relationships and geographical distributions of the tested terebratuloid brachiopods are consistent with a tethyan dispersal and subsequent radiation. Concordance of nuclear and mitochondrial gene phylogenies reinforces previous indications that articulate brachiopods, inarticulate brachiopods, phoronids and ectoprocts cluster with other organisms generally regarded as protostomes. Since ontogeny and morphology in brachiopods, ectoprocts and phoronids depart in important respects from those features supposedly diagnostic of protostomes, this demonstrates that the operational definition of protostomy by the usual ontological characters must be misleading or unreliable. New, molecular, operational definitions are proposed to replace the traditional criteria for the recognition of protostomes and deuterostomes, and the clade-based terms 'Protostomozoa' and 'Deuterostomozoa' are proposed to replace the existing terms 'Protostomia' and 'Deuterostomia'.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Cohen, Dr Bernard
• Authors: Cohen, B.L., Stark, S., Gawthrop, A.B., Burke, M.E., and Thayer, C.W.
• Subjects: Q Science > QH Natural history > QH426 Genetics
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences
• Journal Name: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences
• Publisher: The Royal Society
• ISSN: 0962-8452
• ISSN (Online): 1471-2954
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 1998 The Royal Society
• First Published: First published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 265(1395):475-482
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher