OnyGen · Genomics and evolution of onychophoran development and slime

The study of genomes from across the Animal Tree of Life (AToL) stimulates fundamental and applied research across biology, medicine, and engineering. Yet, we are still missing high-quality genome sequences for many branches of the AToL. Onychophora are one of these branches. Also called “velvet worms”, Onychophora are known for their habitat specificity, conserved morphology, and unique prey-capture slime. They are also the closest living relatives to arthropods, a group that is societally important as pollinators, sources of food, disease vectors, and agricultural pests. Due to advances in sequencing and computational abilities, we are in an era where genome sequencing is more accessible than ever. To fully understand the evolution of onychophoran novelties and the evolution of arthropods, it is imperative to obtain a high-quality genome for the emergent model species, Euperipatoides rowelli. Therefore, I propose to sequence a chromosome-level genome of E. rowelli and use a multi-omic approach to explore the origins of onychophoran and arthropod traits. I will determine the genetic and regulatory landscape of onychophoran development to understand the origins of their stable body plan and compare with the complexity of arthropods. By analyzing large-scale genome rearrangements, I will determine if the genes responsible for body patterning are grouped together. These gene clusters are conserved across many animals and likely play a role in the stability of the onychophoran body plan. I will use genome rearrangements as a novel data type to resolve contentious relationships among panarthropod groups. Finally, I will uncover how Onychophora produce their slime, a material with potential engineering and medical applications. By applying cutting-edge techniques to an understudied phylum of animals for the first time I will develop novel resources to facilitate further research into this little understood phylum and open the door for onychophoran genomics.