Molecular Evolution of Marine Invertebrates

Dear Colleagues,

The exceptional and recent development of cutting-edge molecular technologies has enabled the investigation of biodiversity and evolutionary processes with unprecedented taxonomic resolution and hitherto unattainable temporal and spatial frequency.

Large-scale genomic initiatives such as the International Barcode of Life/BIOSCAN, Tree of Life, Earth Biogenome Project, and the Global Invertebrate Genomics Alliance further contributed to the production of massive amounts of molecular data across the sweep of life. While important progress has been made in the understanding of molecular evolution in particular groups of organisms, such as vertebrates (e.g., fish, birds) and terrestrial invertebrates, marine invertebrates still lag behind. A synthesis is still missing for this phylogenetically hyperdiverse group despite numerous independent contributions over the last decade.

This Special Issue of Life aims to fill this gap by bringing together key contributions, case studies, and major syntheses providing new insights into patterns and mechanisms of molecular evolution in marine invertebrates that are now within reach thanks to data availability and state-of the-art molecular technologies. Contributions must have a fair taxonomic coverage or a meaningful impact for current knowledge, if taxonomically focused, and adhere to the following main topics:

1. Molecular biodiversity analysis;
2. Phylogenetics and phylogeography;
3. Evolutionary rates and clock calibration;
4. New molecular methodologies or bioinformatics analyses;
5. Seascape genetics and population genomics;
6. Genomic and transcriptomic basis of selection processes. 

Dr. Pedro Vieira
Prof. Dr. Filipe Costa
Dr. Pedro Soares
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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