Assembling the Tree of Life: Phylum Euglenozoa

弗吉尼亚联邦大学的格雷戈里·巴克博士因研究裸眼动物的基因组多样性和进化而获奖。裸眼动物是一组不同的微型单细胞原生动物。该群体包括模式生物以及重要的人类寄生虫。这些研究很少的单细胞生物体的进化关系还没有被很好地理解。眼虫是对环境、经济和公众健康具有巨大意义的微生物。锥虫是人类和农业疾病的罪魁祸首，已经得到了广泛的研究。然而，该门的其他成员只有松散的特征，它们的分类关系定义很差。在这个项目中，将详细检查五个样本物种的基因组，还将检查和比较数百个战略选择的裸体动物物种中每一个物种的较小一组基因，以便对该群体进行广泛研究。目标是使用最先进的基因测序技术来阐明群体的分类和进化关系。计算生物学的新策略将被应用于对这些生物多样化的摄食和生活史特征是如何进化的新的见解。该项目将为弗吉尼亚联邦大学、佐治亚大学和密歇根州立大学的本科生、研究生和博士后实习生提供培训机会。学生将被招募参加生物信息学和生物工程的暑期项目，以进行与该项目相关的独立研究。来自代表不足群体的高中教师和学生也将参加该计划。该项目的高级研究人员中有三名是西语裔。对裸眼动物的研究将被纳入几个针对高中生的暑期工作坊项目，以及一门研究生级别的进化生物学课程。

An award has been made to Dr. Gregory Buck of Virginia Commonwealth University for a study of genomic diversity and evolution in the Euglenozoa, a diverse group of microscopic unicellular protists.. The group includes model organisms as well as important human parasites. The evolutionary relationships of these poorly studied unicellular organisms are not well understood. Euglenozoa are micro-organisms of enormous significance to the environment, the economy, and to public health. One group, the trypanosomatids, which are responsible for human and agricultural diseases, have been extensively studied. However, other members of the phylum have only been loosely characterized, and their taxonomic relationships are very poorly defined. In this project, the genomes of five exemplar species will be examined in detail, and a smaller set of genes from each of several hundred strategically selected species of Euglenozoa will be also examined and compared for a broad study of the group. The goal is to use state-of-the-art gene sequencing technologies to elucidate the taxonomic and evolutionary relationships of group. Novel strategies of computational biology will be applied to develop new insights into how the diverse feeding and life history traits of these organisms have evolved. The project will provide training opportunities for undergraduates, graduate and postdoctoral trainees at Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Georgia, and Michigan State University. Students will be recruited for a summer program in bioinformatics and bioengineering to conduct independent research related to this project. High school teachers and students from underrepresented groups will also participate in the program. Three of the senior research personnel on the project are Hispanic. The research on Euglenozoa will be incorporated into several summer workshop programs for high school students, as well as a graduate level course in evolutionary biology.