Table 1.
Proposed priority species for whole genome sequencing.
| Species | Common Name | Phylum/Class | Genome size (Gb) | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alitta (Nereis) virens | King ragworm or sandworm | Annelida/Polychaeta | TBD | Ecological model |
| Magelona pitelkai | N/A | Annelida/Polychaeta | TBD | early branching annelid |
| Owenia fusiformis | Spindle-shaped tubeworm | Annelida/Polychaeta | TBD | early branching annelid |
| Platynereis massiliensis | N/A | Annelida/Polychaeta | 0.3 | Ecological/developmental model |
| Spirobranchus lamarcki | Keel worm | Annelida/Polychaeta | 1.0 | Ecological/developmental model |
| Streblospio benedicti | N/A | Annelida/Polychaeta | 1.4 | developmental/ecological model |
| Artemia franciscana | Brine shrimp | Arthropoda/Branchiopoda | 0.9 | commercial, model |
| Acanthephyra purpurea | Mid-water shrimp | Arthropoda/Malacostraca | TBD | ecological importance, diurnal migrator |
| Asellus aquaticus | Waterlouse | Arthropoda/Malacostraca | 1.9 | research (ecology, evolution) |
| Barbouria cubensis | Cave shrimp | Arthropoda/Malacostraca | TBD | cave conservation importance |
| Glyptonotus spp. | Antarctic isopod | Arthropoda/Malacostraca | 0.5 | model for adaptation (cold) |
| Scylla olivacea | Orange mud crab | Arthropoda/Malacostraca | TBD | commercial |
| Sergia robusta | White shrimp | Arthropoda/Malacostraca | 3 | ecological, commercial |
| Systellaspis debilis | Mid-water shrimp | Arthropoda/Malacostraca | TBD | bioluminescent model species |
| Petrolisthes cinctipes | Porcelain crab | Arthropoda/Maxillopoda | TBD | Ecophysiology model intertidal species |
| Amphibalanus amphitrite | Striped barnacle | Arthropoda/Maxillopoda | TBD | commercial, pest |
| Pollicipes polymerus | Gooseneck Barnacle | Arthropoda/Maxillopoda | TBD | commercial, adaptation (intertidal) |
| Bugula neritina | Brown bryozoan | Bryozoa/Gymnolaemata | 0.2 | pharmaceutical |
| Cerianthus membranaceus | Cylinder anemone | Cnidaria/Anthozoa | 0.5 | sister group to Aiptasia and corals |
| Eguchipsammia fistula | Deep sea coral | Cnidaria/Anthozoa | 0.5 | deep sea ecology, adaptation (cold, depth) |
| Eunicella cavolini | Yellow sea whip | Cnidaria/Anthozoa | 0.5 | foundation species for temperature marine ecosystems |
| Heliopora coerulea | Blue coral | Cnidaria/Anthozoa | TBD | research |
| Montipora digitata | Finger coral | Cnidaria/Anthozoa | TBD | research |
| Orbicella annularis | Boulder star coral | Cnidaria/Anthozoa | TBD | research, taxonomy |
| Ricordea florida | Florida false coral | Cnidaria/Anthozoa | TBD | |
| Tubipora musica | Organ pipe coral | Cnidaria/Anthozoa | TBD | research |
| Millepora dichotoma | Net fire coral | Cnidaria/Hydrozoa | TBD | research |
| Cassiopea frondosa | Upside-down jellyfish | Cnidaria/Scyphozoa | 0.3 | research |
| Gephyrocrinus messingi | Sea lily | Echinodermata/Crinoidea | TBD | sister to remaining echinoderms |
| Himerometra robustipinna | Feather star | Echinodermata/Crinoidea | TBD | research |
| Pontiometra andersoni | Feather star | Echinodermata/Crinoidea | TBD | research, taxonomy |
| Bankia setacea | Feathery shipworm | Mollusca/Bivalvia | 1.5 | physiology, invasive |
| Bathymodiolus azoricus. | N/A | Mollusca/Bivalvia | deep sea ecology | |
| Corbicula fluminea | Asian clam or golden clam | Mollusca/Bivalvia | 1.5 | physiology, invasive |
| Dreissena polymorpha | Zebra mussel | Mollusca/Bivalvia | 1.7 | invasive, pest |
| Limnoperna fortunei | Golden mussel | Mollusca/Bivalvia | TBD | invasive |
| Mya arenaria | Soft-shell clam | Mollusca/Bivalvia | 1.4 | invasive, commercial |
| Ruditapes decussatus | Grooved carpet shell | Mollusca/Bivalvia | 1.8 | commercial, ecological |
| Ruditapes philippinarum | Manila clam | Mollusca/Bivalvia | 1.9 | commercial, invasive, model for mitochondrial biology |
| Cranchia scabra | Glass squid | Mollusca/Cephalopoda | TBD | deep sea ecology |
| Graneledone verrucosa | Atlantic longarm octopus | Mollusca/Cephalopoda | TBD | benthic deep sea species |
| Japetella diaphana | Pelagic bolitaenid octopod | Mollusca/Cephalopoda | TBD | pelagic deep sea species |
| Loligo pealeii | Longfin inshore squid | Mollusca/Cephalopoda | 2.7 | cellular neurobiology, fishery |
| Macrotritopus defillipi | N/A | Mollusca/Cephalopoda | TBD | research |
| Conus bullatus | Bubble cone | Mollusca/Gastropoda | 2.7 | natural products |
| Pomacea maculata | Apple snail | Mollusca/Gastropoda | 0.6 | invasive species, biomedical research |
| Cellana sandwicensis | Hawaiian limpet | Mollusca/Gastropoda | TBD | Model for sympatric diversification |
| Aplysina cauliformis | Row pore rope sponge | Porifera/Demospongiae | TBD | research |
| Cinachyrella alloclada | Golfball sponge | Porifera/Demospongiae | TBD | research |
| Haliclona oculata | N/A | Porifera/Demospongiae | 0.1–0.2 | research |
| Tedania ignis | Fire sponge | Porifera/Demospongiae | ||
| Themiste lageniformis | Peanut worm | Sipuncula/Sipunculidea | 0.5 | taxonomy, developmental biology |
| Milnesium tardigradum | Limno-terrestrial tardigrade | Tartigrada/Eutardigrada | TBD | taxonomy |
| Xenoturbella profundus | N/A | Xenacoelomorpha/Xenoturbellida | 0.6 | early diverging bilaterian clade |
(N/A = not available, TBD = to be determined).
We are limited in the number of taxa we can list, and therefore Table 1 only shows a small cross section of priority taxa.