Novel Predators Reshape Holozoan Phylogeny and Reveal the Presence of a Two-Component Signaling System in the Ancestor of Animals

Abstract

Our understanding of the origin of animals has been transformed by characterizing their most closely related unicellular relatives: choanoflagellates, ichthyosporeans, and filastereans. However, the relative branching order of these groups remains uncertain. Here we use phylogenomics to resolve the deep phylogeny of Holozoa, identifying a novel clade we call Pluriformea.

Javier del Campo

Group Leader

My research aims at understanding the global diversity and distribution of eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbes employing curated phylogenetic frameworks focusing on novel environmental taxa.