DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Systematics and Biogeography of the Trypanosoma cruzi Clade

克氏锥虫是引起恰加斯病的寄生虫，这种病在拉丁美洲农村和美国南部感染了800万至900万人，尽管它很重要，但人们对这种寄生虫是如何以及在哪里进化的知之甚少。有一些相互矛盾的假说指出，有袋动物或蝙蝠是克氏t型病毒及其近亲的原始宿主，然后才传染给包括人类在内的其他哺乳动物。然而，目前还没有收集到明确的数据来支持一种假设。该项目将剖析哺乳动物锥虫之间的进化关系，通过从博物馆标本和当代样本中生成DNA序列数据，然后进行分子系统发育和生物地理分析，阐明这些寄生虫的宿主和地理起源。这项研究将提高人们对博物馆藏品对研究工作重要性的认识。此外，一个新的网站“PhyloTryp”将实施，它将提供标准化的工具和数据，以促进锥虫的进化研究。最后，本科生的培训将通过AMNH REU项目完成。在课程结束时，学生将获得基本的实验室和分析技能，并将与学员一起准备同行评审的出版物。

Trypanosoma cruzi is the parasite that causes Chagas disease, which infects 8-9 million people in rural Latin America, and the Southern U.S. Despite its importance, little is known in terms of how and where this parasite evolved. There are competing hypotheses pointing either to marsupials or bats as original hosts of T. cruzi and its closest relatives before jumping to other mammals, including humans. However, no definitive data have been gathered to favor one hypothesis over the other. This project will dissect the evolutionary relationships among mammalian trypanosomes to clarify the host and geographic origins of these parasites through the generation of DNA sequence data from both museum specimens and contemporary samples followed by molecular phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses.This research will promote awareness of the importance of museum collections to research efforts. Also, a new website "PhyloTryp" will be implemented, which will provide standardized tools and data to facilitate evolutionary research on trypanosomes. Finally, the training of an undergraduate student will be accomplished through the AMNH REU program. By the end of the program, the student will have gained basic laboratory and analytical skills, and a peer-review publication will be prepared with the mentee.