This project investigates the evolutionary relationships among three groups of free-living flatworms. A highly conserved gene of the mitochondrial DNA will be amplified using a new technique called the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR. Once amplified, the gene will be sequenced. The amplified products will also be used to clone larger pieces of the mitochondrial DNA with which the order of other mitochondrial genes can be determined. Mitochondrial DNA gene order will be used to determine evolutionary relationships among the three groups of flatworms. This information will be a beginning for a long-term study on mitochondrial gene order and gene sequences of nuclear DNA of representatives of an entire family of flatworms. Many flatworms hold a key position in theories on the origin of multicellular animals. Therefore, a better understanding of relationships among flatworms will also have implications for a better understanding of the evolution of multicellular animals.
