The intent here is to generate and compare mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences in order to explore the tempo and mode of sequence evolution in strepsirhine primates (e.g., lemurs and lorises). The primary objective of this research is to test two discrete hypotheses: (a) do lemurs show a reduced rate of molecular evolution compared to lorises and other primates?, and (b) do lemurs exhibit a slower transition rate? If it can be demonstrated that lemurs have experienced a molecular slowdown relative to other primates, this would indicate that generation time isn't the principal variable responsible for controlling the rate of primate evolution. A reduced overall rate of molecular evolution coincident with a depressed transition rate would be suggestive of a mechanism whereby overall rates can be retarded or accelerated. The large number of mtDNA and nuclear DNA sequences to be generated for a uniform taxonomic sample will enable comparisons of rates of evolution and phylogenies for the two data sets. A prime research strength of this approach is that molecular evolutionary phenomena are to be explored within a robust phylogenetic context. %%% Results are expected to shed light on our understanding of strepsirhine evolution and more specifically Malagasy lemuriforms, which exemplify biological diversity. In addition findings will impact the on-going debate over the reality of a molecular clock. The lack of consensus that predominates the current controversy is partly due to the poor phylogenetic grounding of many studies. A third justification for the study is its assessment of nuclear versus mitochondrial nucleotide sequences, an approach not taken so often. Estimation of the magnitude of mtDNA and nuclear rate differentials may affect the phylogenetic utility of those genes.
