Collaborative Research: Phylogeny, Behavior, and Silk Evolution of Webspinners (Embioptera), A Little-known Insect Order

合作研究：鲜为人知的结网昆虫（Embioptera）的系统发育、行为和丝进化

• 批准号: 0738179
• 负责人: Kelly Miller
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of New Mexico
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-02-15 至 2009-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0738179&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Phylogeny; Behavior; Silk

Webspinners (order Embioptera) are a curious group of insects foundmainly in tropical forests. Their biology is among the most poorly studiedof any insect group even though webspinners are known to exhibit a range ofunique biological phenomena. They are the only insects that spin silk fromglands in their front legs, and they do so as both immatures and adults.They exhibit maternal care and often live in groups where they use silk toconstruct large and sometimes intricate galleries in which they live andrear their young. The types of galleries and behaviors associated with silkspinning vary considerably throughout the group, and nothing is known aboutthe composition of silk proteins and the genetic basis for silk production.Although there are only about 400 species of webspinners known, estimatessuggest there may be more than 1500 new species already in collections butnot formally described and many more in Nature awaiting discovery.Webspinner classification is in a poor state never having been updated usinga modern, phylogenetic basis. A collaborative research and training projectbetween laboratories at three universities will assemble a group ofresearchers with the expertise to investigate the phylogeny, behavioralecology and classification of the Embioptera. At Brigham Young University,phylogenetic analyses will be conducted using molecular and morphologicaldata and will form the basis of an improved natural classification of thegroup. At Santa Clara University, biological aspects of the insects such ascolony construction, maternal care and habitat requirements will be examinedwithin a phylogenetic context by tracing these features through thephylogeny. Finally, at the University of California, Riverside, the geneticbasis for silk production will be examined by discovering the DNA sequencesthat code for silk in several species, and the variation in these silk geneswill be investigated within the context of webspinner phylogeny. Resultswill be disseminated in scientific journals and through applications ofmodern, digital technology including digital image galleries, digitalreproductions of literature, digital matrix-based identification keys, etc.Museum holdings of webspinners will be enhanced by curation and new materialfrom fieldwork. This collaborative project represents the first comprehensiveinvestigation of the phylogeny and biology of webspinners ever done. Sinceembiids occur in often fragile ecosystems, better knowledge of the groupwill likely have important relevance to conservation of these habitats.Also, this work will foster multidisciplinary collaboration betweenbiologists in disparate fields and facilitate the training of postdoctoralfellows and students in multidisciplinary research. The research willinvolve undergraduates extensively to give them a firm background inscience, including proper research methods and ethics. When the projectobjectives are met, a historically little-known insect group will be moreaccessible to everyone through the published results, and a positivelong-term impact on the scientific community will occur because of the broadcross-disciplinary training of researchers at several academic levels.

WebSpinners（订购Embioptera）是在热带森林中发现的一群奇怪的昆虫。 他们的生物学是任何昆虫群体研究的最糟糕的生物学之一，即使已知Webspinners展示了一系列的生物学现象。 它们是唯一在前腿上旋转丝绸丝绸的昆虫，并且这样做是因为不合理和成年人。它们表现出孕产妇护理，并且经常生活在他们使用丝绸的大型造型的大型画廊中，有时甚至是复杂的画廊，他们生活在他们的年轻人中。 在整个小组中，画廊和行为与丝绸旋转相关的行为的类型各不相同，对丝绸蛋白质的组成和丝绸生产的遗传基础一无所知。尽管只有400种已知的Webspinners已知的Webspinners，估计估计有1500多个在库存中已经有1500多个新物种，但在本质上没有进行任何群体，并且在自然界中进行了更新。现代的系统发育基础。 三所大学实验室之间的合作研究和培训项目将组装一组研究人员，并具有研究胚胎翅目的系统发育，行为验证和分类的专业知识。 在杨百翰大学，将使用分子和形态数据进行系统发育分析，并将构成改进的小组自然分类的基础。 在圣塔克拉拉大学（Santa Clara University），昆虫的生物学方面，例如腹部结构，孕产妇护理和栖息地的要求，通过通过晶体发育来追踪这些特征，从而在系统上进行研究。 最后，在加利福尼亚大学河滨分校，将通过发现几种物种中的丝绸丝的DNA测序码来检查丝绸生产的遗传细菌，并且这些丝绸基因的变化将在WebSpinner系统发育的背景下进行研究。 在科学期刊上以及通过现代技术的应用，包括数字图像画廊，文献数字化，基于数字矩阵的识别键等，将通过Curation和New Mealital Fieldwork的新材料来增强结果。这个协作项目代表了Webspinners的系统发育和生物学的首次全面研究。 自从embiids发生在经常脆弱的生态系统中，因此对团体的更好了解可能与保护这些栖息地具有重要意义。此外，这项工作还将促进不同领域中生物学家之间的多学科合作，并促进培训多学科研究中多学科和学生的培训。这项研究将广泛的本科生广泛的本科生，以使他们具有坚定的背景知识，包括适当的研究方法和道德规范。当符合项目对象时，每个人都可以通过公开的结果来探索一个鲜为人知的昆虫群体，并且由于对研究人员进行了多个学术水平的研究人员的广泛学科培训，因此将对科学界产生对科学界的积极影响。