Assembling the viral tree of life

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。近年来，很明显，病毒在控制和塑造所有生态系统方面发挥着重要作用。然而，人们对在所有环境中发现的病毒的多样性和类型了解有限。据估计，目前发现的病毒还不到0.01% ~ 0.1%。该基金的目标是通过开发和实施工具来发现和表征以前未知的病毒，从而开始克服这一缺陷。本项目将开发环境样品高通量DNA测序技术，以实现总体研究目标。这项研究通过扩大我们对地球生物多样性维度的认识，满足了美国国家科学基金会DEB的目标，也满足了《恢复法案》的目标，即资助高风险、高回报的研究，并在科学劳动力中创造和保留工作岗位。该项目的更广泛意义和科学重要性在于培养下一代病毒学科学家，同时对了解地球上生命的多样性和功能作出重大贡献。该项目将培养生命科学前沿领域的本科生、研究生和博士后。完全可以预期，由于这种培训的结果，这些人将成为未来美国科学事业的重要贡献者。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).In recent years it has become evident that viruses play a major role in controlling and shaping all ecosystems. However, there is only a limited knowledge of the diversity and types of viruses that are found in all environments. It is estimated that less than 0.01 to 0.1 % of viruses have been discovered. The goal of the grant is to begin to overcome this deficiency by the development and implementation of tools to discover and characterize previously unknown viruses. This project will develop high throughput DNA sequencing technology of environmental samples to accomplish the overall research goals. This research meets NSF DEB goals by expanding our knowledge about the dimensions of biodiversity on the planet, and the goals of the Recovery Act to fund high risk, high return research and create and retain jobs in the scientific workforce. The broader significance and scientific importance of this project is to train the next generation of scientists in virology, while significantly contributing to the understanding of the diversity and function of life on earth. This project will train undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral scholars at the cutting edge of the life sciences. It is fully anticipated that as a result of this training these individuals will become significant future contributors to the US scientific endeavor.