BioProject

Caddisflies (Trichoptera) exhibit high ecological and species diversity and can serve as excellent models for the evolution of species and functional diversity. More...

Caddisflies (Trichoptera) exhibit high ecological and species diversity and can serve as excellent models for the evolution of species and functional diversity. Caddisfly larvae are often referred to as underwater architects. Their silk secretions are the basis for the construction of elaborate cases from a range of materials. These cases provide opportunities to exploit different ecological niches. The properties of caddisfly silk (polymerizes in aquatic environments, high tensile strength and extensibility) make this material an interesting target for inter-disciplinary research.We will (1) sequence genomes of all caddisfly families and groups with deviating silk usage behavior to obtain a deep caddisfly phylogeny based on ~20 genomes and (2) sequence genomes and transcriptomes of closely related species with different silk usage behavior to identify gene clusters involved in silk bio-synthesis. This project is supported by LOEWE-Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics funded by the Hessen State Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts (HMWK). Less...