Murid Rodent Phylogenetics Using Multiple Nuclear Genes

田纳西大学的罗纳德·阿德金斯博士获得了一项资助，与佛罗里达州立大学的斯科特·斯特潘博士合作，研究包括普通老鼠在内的最大哺乳动物家族(鼠科)的进化关系。尽管小鼠科包括所有哺乳动物的四分之一，对农业、疾病和生物医学研究具有巨大的重要性，但这些分布在世界各地的物种之间的关系非常不清楚。Adkins博士和Steppan博士正在对这一组中大量物种的几个基因进行DNA测序。基于对物种间突变模式的计算机分析，将重建小鼠科的进化树。实验室的小鼠和大鼠是人类疾病的主要研究模型，很快就会完成它们的全部基因组测序。此外，鼠疫和汉坦病毒等严重疾病是通过一些鼠科成员藏匿的寄生虫传播的。老鼠和它们的亲戚也是主要的农业消费者，在某些条件下，它们可以占到食草动物食用的植物材料的一半以上。值得注意的是，小鼠科在世界各地的分布赋予了它们在理解塑造世界的气候、地质和生态变化方面的独特作用。拥有这些物种的进化树将澄清啮齿动物与其他哺乳动物(包括人类)之间的大规模基因组变化，将极大地促进我们理解它们作为生物医学模型、疾病媒介和生态变化引擎的角色，并将使我们能够在古代地质和气候事件的背景下重建这一群体的历史。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Ronald Adkins at the University of Tennessee to work in collaboration with Dr. Scott Steppan of Florida State University to study the evolutionary relationships of the largest family of mammals (Muridae) which includes the common mouse and rat. Although Muridae includes one fourth of all mammals and has immense importance to agriculture, disease, and biomedical research, the relationships among these species distributed throughout the world are extremely unclear. Drs. Adkins and Steppan are sequencing DNA from several genes from a large number of species in this group. Based on computer analysis of the patterns of mutation among the species, the evolutionary tree of Muridae will be reconstructed. The laboratory mouse and rat are the premier research models for human disease and will soon have their entire genomes sequenced. Additionally, serious diseases, such as plague and hantavirus, are spread by parasites harbored by some members of Muridae. Rats, mice and their relatives are also major agricultural consumers and under certain conditions can account for over half of the plant material eaten by herbivores. Significantly, the worldwide distribution of Muridae grants them a unique role in understanding the climatological, geological, and ecological changes that have shaped the world. Having the evolutionary tree of these species will clarify the large-scale genomic changes that distinguish rodents from other mammals (including humans) and will greatly facilitate our understanding of their roles as biomedical models, disease vectors, engines of ecological change, and will allow us to reconstruct the history of this group in the context of ancient geological and climatological events.