1KITE

What is 1KITE?

1KITE is an international research project that is attempting to trace the evolutionary history of insects on an unprecedented scale. The main aim of the project is the reliable reconstruction of the insect family tree. This is a prerequisite for understanding the diverse adaptations of insects to their environment over the course of the Earth's history.

In addition, the knowledge gained can also be of great importance for completely different areas, e.g. the development of new medicines or pesticides.

Who is behind it?

1KITE comprises internationally recognised experts in the fields of molecular biology, morphology, palaeontology, embryology, bioinformatics and scientific computing from more than a dozen countries. More than 100 researchers worldwide are involved in this unique project.

What has happened so far...

From 2011 to 2016, transcriptomes of over 1,200 insect species from all known insect orders and outgroups were sequenced to reconstruct the insect phylogenetic tree. Since the first major publication in the journal Science in 2014, we have gained many insights into insect evolution that have been - and will be - published in dozens of scientific publications.

Further information