Jessa Dione Ramirez March 20, 2020

BS. Biology – I, Microbiology Taxonomy Lecture

Possible Reconstruction of Phylum Cnidaria

In 2013, Dr. Ehsan Kayal along with his fellow researchers decided to publish an

article about the Phylum Cnidaria. The article “Cnidarian phylogenetic relationships as

revealed by mitogenomics” reveals the possible reorganization of the Cnidarian

phylogenetic tree due to the new findings brought by the use of mitochondrial genomic

data. Currently, the Cnidarian tree of life is subdivided into the class Anthozoa and the

subphylum Medusozoa – which comprises the remaining four classes; Cubozoa (box

jellies), Hydrozoa (hydras), Scyphozoa (true jellyfish), and Staurozoa (stalked jellyfish).

However, several studies based on mitochondrial DNA data have proposed that

Anthozoa is paraphyletic with one of its subclasses (Octocorallia) forming a sister group

with Medusozoa. Despite this, Medusozoa is uncontested as monophyly though the

relationships among its members are still unsettled.

Phylum Cnidaria is composed of simple aquatic animals such as corals, sea

anemones, hydras, and the popular jellyfish. These organisms are characterized by the

presence of a unique cell called the cnidocyst which contains a giant capsular organelle

with an eversible tubule referred to as the cnida. Cnidarians are distinctively known for

having life cycles that entail living either as a benthic polyp or a pelagic medusa or both.

Modern taxonomic schemes separate Cnidaria into two groups: Anthozoa, which is

further subdivided into Hexacorallia (hard corals and sea anemones) and Octocorallia

(soft corals, sea pens, and gorgonians), and Medusozoa which includes Cubozoa,
Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, and Staurozoa. Anthozoans are cnidarians that reproduce as

polyps while those that reproduce as free-swimming medusas belong to Medusozoa.

The main difference between the two subgroups is that Anthozoans do not undergo

living as mobile, pelagic medusas.

Kayal and his colleagues were concerned about the ongoing issue on the

phylogenetic relationships among cnidarians. Resolving this predicament would be a

giant step towards the reconstruction of the evolutionary history of the entire phylum,

affecting not only the morphological characters and life history, but also the molecular

aspect. The researchers decided to compile all previous data on Phylum Cnidaria to

reevaluate the relationships among species with the addition of the mitochondrial DNA

data. They discovered that the mitochogenomic dataset supports many of the preceding

hypotheses, such as the monophyly of Hexacorallia, Octocorallia, Medusozoa,

Cubozoa, Staurozoa, Hydrozoa, Carybdeida, Chirodropida, and Hydroidolina. However,

the results dismiss the proposed monophyly of Anthozoa, showing that the Octocorallia

+ Medusozoa relationship is not a result of sampling bias, as suggested before. This

provides evidence for the assumption that the polyp-form first developed among

cnidarians. Furthermore, the results refute the hypotheses of Scyphozoa

(Discomedusae + Coronatae), Acraspeda (Cubozoa + Scyphozoa), and the concept of

Staurozoa as sister group to all other medusozoans. The rejection of the traditional

hypotheses leads to the notion that the shared morphological characteristics among

these groups are plesiomorphies that emerged in the branch leading to Medusozoa.

The acceptance of these changes will call for the reorganization of the entire phylum as

well as the use of additional nuclear markers and new phylogenetic inference methods
in order to further develop our understanding of the relationships and character

evolution within Cnidaria.

Dr. Ehsan Kayal is a French invertebrate zoologist at the Department of

Invertebrate Zoology of the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Natural History. He has

numerous research experience especially in the field of molecular genetics, having

produced more than 90 publications. Currently, he is working on two projects, one of

which is centered on the genome evolution of brown algae. His article on cnidarian

phylogenetic relationships aims to resolve the ongoing conflict among the species

connection with one another. This action has produced both positive and negative

effects upon the contemporary taxonomic domain, having validated and dismissed

some of the traditional hypotheses developed for cnidarians. I applaud the researchers

for having the initiative to try and unravel the intricate bonds between each species for it

has brought, if not the entire formula, a clue towards slowly achieving that ultimate

appreciation of the phylum. However, there are a few points that I have observed that

needs further clarification. The article, though have discussed the background of the

phylum, has not presented the movement of evolution from porifera towards cnidaria.

The absence of information regarding that evolution is detrimental to the comprehension

of the development of the cnidocyst which is vital in understanding the advancement of

life particularly in the ascension of humans. Another factor is that the researchers have

failed to analyze the gathered data such as combining both the morphological and

molecular sequences. They instead separated the two which may have affected the

outcome of the study. Combining the two aspects might be the key to attaining the goal

of fixing the complex relationships among the members of Phylum Cnidaria.

 Despite a few setbacks, Kayal and his colleagues have been successful in

contributing a new advancement to the ever-growing collection of knowledge on the

evolution of life. If the new ideas found within the article were accepted, it will surely

bring a change in the history of phylogenetics and evolution.

References

Kayal, E. (2020). Ehsan Kayal. LinkedIn. Retrieved April 1, 2020, from

www.linkedin.com/in/ehsan-kayal-3929b925.

Kayal, E., (2018). Ehsan Kayal. ResearchGate. Retrieved April 1, 2020, from

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ehsan_Kayal2/4.

Projects, C. to W. (2019, December 3). Ehsan Kayal. Retrieved April 1, 2020, from

https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ehsan_Kayal