DISSERTATION RESEARCH: A Genomic Approach to Resolving the Origin of and Evolution of Turtles

论文研究：解决海龟起源和进化的基因组方法

• 批准号: 0909811
• 负责人: Jimmy McGuire
• 金额: $ 1.36万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-01 至 2011-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0909811&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Genomic; Approach; Resolving

Turtles are some of the world's most recognizable animals however scientists have little idea about the relationships among turtles and other animals. Past work using morphological data indicate that turtles are the most ancient living reptile group although some DNA data conclude that turtles are a younger group more closely related to crocodiles and birds. While most of the current studies using DNA sequences include only a handful of genes, this project will develop a novel genomics approach to sequence 25 nuclear genes for fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. These DNA data, along with the use of fossils will help: 1) determine the position of turtles in the tree of life, 2) resolve relationships within turtles themselves, and 3) provide insight into the tempo and mode of turtle evolution.The project will incorporate the training of undergraduates from underrepresented groups and results will be used in public outreach to seventh graders. In addition, this work will help resolve a fundamental portion of the tree of life and will provide a framework of future research in comparative evolutionary biology. The DNA technique developed in this project will provide a simple, efficient method for small laboratories to begin collecting genomic-level data previously restricted to large, high-budget laboratories.

海龟是世界上最知名的动物之一，然而科学家们对海龟和其他动物之间的关系知之甚少。过去使用形态学数据的研究表明，海龟是现存最古老的爬行动物群体，尽管一些DNA数据得出结论，海龟是一个更年轻的群体，与鳄鱼和鸟类关系更密切。虽然目前大多数使用DNA序列的研究只包括少数基因，但该项目将开发一种新的基因组学方法，对鱼类、两栖动物、爬行动物和哺乳动物的25个核基因进行测序。这些DNA数据以及化石的使用将有助于：1)确定海龟在生命之树中的位置，2)解决海龟自身内部的关系，3)深入了解海龟进化的速度和模式。该项目将包括对来自代表性不足群体的本科生的培训，结果将用于向七年级学生进行公共宣传。此外，这项工作将有助于解决生命之树的基本部分，并将为未来的比较进化生物学研究提供一个框架。在这个项目中开发的DNA技术将为小型实验室提供一种简单、有效的方法来开始收集基因组水平的数据，这些数据以前仅限于大型、高预算的实验室。