Phylogenetics of Life History and Development in Bombycoidea [Lepidoptera]

家蚕 [鳞翅目] 生活史和发育的系统发育

• 批准号: 0212910
• 负责人: Charles Mitter
• 金额: $ 27万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-09-01 至 2006-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0212910&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Phylogenetics; Life; History; Development; Bombycoidea

A grant has been awarded to Drs. Charles Mitter and Jerome Regier of the University of Maryland, Dr. Richard Peigler of the University of the Incarnate Word, and Dr. Ian Kitching of the Natural History Museum (London) to study the evolution of moths in the superfamily Bombycoidea, the silkmoths, hornworms, and relatives. A relatively new source of evidence, DNA sequences in the cell nucleus that encode proteins, will be used to reconstruct the major branches of the phylogeny (= evolutionary tree) of these moths. The phylogeny will then be used in two kinds of evolutionary studies. The first will test hypotheses about the evolution of food plant use, including the postulate that in species evolving a short-lived, non-feeding adult moth, unlike the typical habit of drinking nectar with a long proboscis, the caterpillars are likely to feed on large, easy-to-find plant species, or on many different plant species, or both. The second study will address the genetic and developmental basis of anatomical "innovations" during evolution, using a novel surface structure on the eggshell of some wild silkmoth species as a model. This work is part of long-term effort to reconstruct the phylogeny of the mega-diverse insect order Lepidoptera (~160,000 known species). Lepidoptera play a major role in terrestrial ecosystems, as herbivores, pollinators, and food for birds and many other animals. They include innumerable crop pest species, and provide model systems for fundamental studies of ecology, genetics, and physiology. A reliable phylogeny will be an essential tool for organizing and guiding research on Lepidoptera, including the search for environmentally sound pest management strategies. A phylogeny is also prerequisite for understanding the spectacular diversification of lepidopteran species and their key ecological features such as specialization on different food plants.

马里兰州大学的查尔斯·米特博士和杰罗姆·雷杰博士、化身世界大学的理查德·佩格勒博士和自然历史博物馆（伦敦）的伊恩·基钦博士获得了一笔赠款，用于研究蛾总科中蛾类、蚕、角虫及其亲属的进化。 一个相对较新的证据来源，即细胞核中编码蛋白质的DNA序列，将被用来重建这些蛾类进化树的主要分支。 然后，该遗传学将用于两种进化研究。 第一个将测试关于食用植物使用进化的假设，包括假设在进化为短命的，不进食的成年蛾的物种中，与长喙饮用花蜜的典型习惯不同，毛虫可能以大型，容易找到的植物物种为食，或者在许多不同的植物物种上，或者两者兼而有之。 第二项研究将探讨进化过程中解剖学“创新”的遗传和发育基础，使用一些野生蚕蛾物种蛋壳上的新表面结构作为模型。 这项工作是重建巨大多样性昆虫鳞翅目（约160，000种已知物种）的长期努力的一部分。 鳞翅目昆虫在陆地生态系统中扮演着重要的角色，它们是食草动物、传粉者以及鸟类和许多其他动物的食物。 它们包括无数的作物害虫物种，并为生态学、遗传学和生理学的基础研究提供了模型系统。可靠的昆虫发生学将是组织和指导对鳞翅目昆虫的研究，包括寻求无害环境的害虫管理战略的一个重要工具。一个系统发育也是理解鳞翅目物种的惊人多样性及其关键生态特征的先决条件，例如对不同食用植物的专业化。