Assembling the Tree of Life: Phylum Euglenozoa

弗吉尼亚联邦大学的格雷戈里·巴克（Gregory Buck）博士因研究真核生物（一种多种多样的微观单细胞原生生物）的基因组多样性和进化而获奖。这一组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的进化关系还没有得到很好的理解。真核生物是一种对环境、经济和公众健康具有巨大意义的微生物。其中一组，锥虫，是人类和农业疾病的罪魁祸首，已经被广泛研究。然而，门的其他成员只有松散的特征，它们的分类关系是非常不明确的。在这个项目中，将详细检查五个范例物种的基因组，并从几百个战略选择的裸藻类物种中每一个较小的一组基因也将被检查和比较，以便对该群体进行广泛的研究。目标是利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应用于开发新的见解如何多样化的喂养和生活史特征的这些生物已经进化。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、研究生和博士后学员提供培训机会。学生将被招募参加生物信息学和生物工程的暑期课程，进行与本项目相关的独立研究。高中教师和来自弱势群体的学生也将参与该项目。该项目的高级研究人员中有三名是西班牙裔。对真核生物的研究将被纳入几个针对高中生的夏季研讨会项目，以及进化生物学的研究生课程。

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.