Collaborative Research: EAGER: Using ultraconserved elements (UCEs) as genomic markers to study shallow levels of evolutionary divergence

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This project will investigate the utility of using ultra conserved elements of the genome (UCEs) as primary data for genetic and evolutionary studies of populations and species. UCEs are regions of the genome that rarely change, and that are shared across very divergent organismal groups (from humans to lizards). Thus, UCEs could potentially provide hundreds to thousands of data points that are universal across large taxonomic groups for analysis. This project will capture and sequence the DNA of 2,386 UCE areas of the genome across 18 species (from three organismal classes) in order to test the utility and power of UCEs as universal data markers for organismal population studies. UCE's will provide a unique and important new tool for in-depth genetic studies of biodiversity and evolution while also helping to address problems in conservation biology and wildlife management. Development of UCE-based approaches may: produce data from thousands of genes across entire orders and classes of organisms; enable previously impossible apples-to-apples comparisons of genomic diversity among thousands of species at a time; and provide quantum increases in speed and decreases in cost for population genomic studies. This project will support a bioinformatics training workshop in Alaska, release all data and source code to the public, and publish results in peer-reviewed journals.