Collaborative Proposal: Millipede Systematics: Developing phylogenomic, classification, and taxonomic resources for the future

节肢动物纲倍足纲（千足虫）包括约12，000种描述的物种，分布在世界各地几乎每个生物群落中。 该群体有着深厚的进化历史，其中包括一些最早的陆地动物，可追溯到4亿多年前的志留纪中期。尽管它们作为森林中的分解者具有重要的生态意义，丰富的多样性（估计有20，000 - 80，000种），以及由于其大量的防御分泌物而成为化学战士的突出地位，但该群体的研究却少得可怜。 该研究小组将使用基于下一代序列数据的现代基因组框架来修改当前的序数和家族级分类系统，然后利用这些数据来探索化学防御分泌物及其前体的进化。该项目旨在通过为该群体编制一份形态学地图集、制作第一份千足虫科图解和出版第一份完整的千足虫物种目录，大大提高千足虫多样性的可及性。 该项目小组将建立一个强大的合作研究和培训网络，并将与世界各地的合作者合作。 千足虫系统学、形态学和基因组学的培训将包括从高中学生和教师、本科研究人员、博士后实习生到参加在美国东南部和泰国曼谷举办的有组织培训讲习班的学生的广泛的个人。

The arthropod class Diplopoda (the millipedes) comprises ~12,000 described species that are distributed worldwide in nearly every biome. The group has a deep evolutionary history that includes some of the very first terrestrial animals, dating from the mid-Silurian over 400 million years ago. Despite their ecological importance as decomposers in forests, wealth of diversity (estimated 20,000-80,000 species), and prominence as chemical warriors owing to their vast array of defense secretions, the group is woefully understudied. The research team will revise the current ordinal and family-level classification systems using a modern phylogenomic framework based on next generation sequence data and then employ these data to explore the evolution of chemical defense secretions and their precursors. This project seeks to greatly enhance the accessibility of millipede diversity through the development of a morphological atlas for the group, production of the first illustrated key to millipede families, and publication of the first complete millipede species catalog. The project team will develop a strong collaborative research and training network and will partner with collaborators worldwide. Training in millipede systematics, morphology, and genomics will include a broad range of individuals from high school students and teachers, undergraduate researchers, a postdoctoral trainee, to students participating in organized training workshops, to be held in the Southeastern US and in Bangkok, Thailand.