Dissertation Research: Molecular Phylogeny of the Endemic Rodents of Madagascar

论文研究：马达加斯加特有啮齿动物的分子系统发育

• 批准号: 9623426
• 负责人: Priscilla Tucker
• 金额: $ 1万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-06-01 至 1998-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9623426&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Molecular; Phylogeny; Endemic

9623426 TUCKER The primary goal of studies in systematic biology is to understand the processes that give rise to the diversity of life. Reconstructing the historical (OphylogeneticO) relationships among organisms is the first step in studying the patterns of diversity and elucidating the processes that give rise to this diversity. This project investigates the phylogenetic relationships among an exceptionally diverse group of mammals, the native rodents of Madagascar (the nesomyine rodents; subfamily Nesomyinae), and explores the relationships among these rodents and rodents native to mainland Africa. The seven genera and 14 species of Nesomyinae are exceedingly diverse morphologically and ecologically; the only "character" serving to unite the group is their common distribution on Madagascar. There is some uncertainty whether the nesomyines are a result of a single adaptive radiation or of multiple migrations to the island. If the nesomyine rodents are in fact the result of one migration event, it is certainly one of the most spectacular mammalian radiations on earth. An organism's phylogenetic history is written in its DNA. This study, by Sharon Jansa under the direction of Priscilla Tucker, therefore will use DNA sequence data to uncover the relationships among nesomyine rodents. Data will be obtained from two genes: the maternally inherited cytochrome b gene and the biparentally inherited zona pellucida 3 gene. The combination of maternally inherited and biparentally inherited gene sequence data is likely to accurately reflect the history of the organisms and not simply the history of the genes. This study is significant in that it is the first to use a molecular data set to investigate the phylogeny of the nesomyine rodents. The knowledge of relationships obtained from this study will provide a framework for examining the ecological and morphological specializations among this diverse group of mammals. This may be the only opportunity to study this unique fauna, whi ch is rapidly disappearing due to continuing deforestation and encroachment of human-introduced species.

9623426塔克系统生物学研究的主要目标是了解导致生命多样性的过程。 重建生物体之间的历史关系是研究多样性模式和阐明产生这种多样性的过程的第一步。 本项目调查了一个非常多样化的哺乳动物群体，马达加斯加本土啮齿动物（nesomyine啮齿动物;亚科Nesomyinae）之间的系统发育关系，并探讨了这些啮齿动物和非洲大陆本土啮齿动物之间的关系。 Nesomyinae的7个属和14个种在形态和生态上都非常不同;唯一的“特征”是它们在马达加斯加的共同分布。 有一些不确定性是否nesomyines是一个单一的适应性辐射或多次迁移到岛上的结果。 如果nesomyine啮齿动物实际上是一个迁移事件的结果，它肯定是地球上最壮观的哺乳动物辐射之一。 生物体的系统发育史写在它的DNA中。 这项研究由Sharon Jansa在Priscilla Tucker的指导下进行，因此将使用DNA序列数据来揭示nesomyine啮齿动物之间的关系。 数据将从两个基因获得：母系遗传的细胞色素B基因和双亲遗传的透明质酸3基因。 母系遗传和双亲遗传的基因序列数据的组合可能准确地反映生物体的历史，而不仅仅是基因的历史。 本研究的意义在于，它是第一个使用分子数据集来研究nesomyine啮齿动物的生殖发育。 从这项研究中获得的关系的知识将提供一个框架，检查这个不同的哺乳动物群体之间的生态和形态专业化。 这可能是研究这种独特动物群的唯一机会，由于持续的森林砍伐和人类引入物种的入侵，这种动物群正在迅速消失。