Phylogeny and diversification of the ants, wasps and bees (Hymenoptera Aculeata) using targeted enrichment of ultra-conserved elements

地球上生命的一个普遍特征是，不同生物之间新物种形成的速度差别很大。生活史的变化等特征可能是这些比率之间巨大差异的一个解释。在昆虫中，已经研究了饮食、社会性和寄生方式的变化对物种形成的影响。然而，很少有昆虫群体包括具有所有这些生活史特征的物种，这使得很难比较它们的个体影响。蚂蚁、黄蜂和蜜蜂（Aculeata）就是其中的一类；它们众多的物种表现出生命历史的多样性。研究人员将使用新的基因组测序方法来揭示已描述的65000种蚂蚁、黄蜂和蜜蜂之间的进化关系。这项研究将为具有复杂社会系统的一大群生物（包括蚂蚁、大黄蜂、黄马甲、蜜蜂和大黄蜂）和具有重要经济意义的传粉昆虫（蜜蜂）的物种形成率差异提供重要见解。该项目将对美国科学专业知识的发展和基础设施的改善作出重大贡献。它将为本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员提供DNA测序、生物信息学、计算机编程和系统发育分析等复杂方法的培训机会。协议和数据将向公众提供。该项目将开发一个关于生物多样性、进化历史和我们最重要的农业传粉者（蜜蜂）的重要性的巡回公共展览。研究小组将利用DNA测序的新技术创新，生成大量数据集，以解决Aculeata的关系。利用基因组的高度保守区域（超保守元件），他们将丰富感兴趣基因的基因组文库。这些丰富的文库将使用最新的测序技术进行测序。利用生物信息学工具，这些数据集将被组装、排列和分析，以重建尖刺类群之间的进化关系，并确定多样化发生的地点和时间。

One universal feature of life on earth is that the rate at which new species are formed varies widely across organisms. Features such as changes in life history, may be one explanation for the big differences among these rates. In insects, changes in diet, sociality, and mode of parasitism have been investigated for their impact on species formation. However, very few groups of insects include species that have all of these life history traits, making it difficult to compare their individual impacts. The ants, wasps and bees (Aculeata) represent one such group; their numerous species exhibit a diversity of life histories. The researchers will use new methods of genome sequencing to uncover the evolutionary relationships among the 65,000 described species of ants, wasps and bees. This research will provide important insights into differences in rates of speciation for a large group of organisms with sophisticated social systems (including ants, hornets, yellow jackets, honey bees and bumblebees) and the economically important group of pollinating insects (bees). This project will contribute significantly to the development of scientific expertise and improved infrastructure in the United States. It will provide training opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers in sophisticated methods of DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, computer programming, and phylogenetic analysis. Protocols and data will be made publically available. The project will develop a traveling public exhibit on the biodiversity, evolutionary history, and importance of our most important agricultural pollinators (bees).The research team will take advantage of new technological innovations in DNA sequencing to generate massive data sets for resolving the relationships of the Aculeata. Using highly conserved regions of the genome (ultraconserved elements) they will enrich genomic libraries for genes of interest. These enriched libraries will then be subjected to sequencing using the latest sequencing technologies. Using bioinformatics tools, the data sets will be assembled, aligned, and analyzed to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships among aculeate taxa and determine where and when shifts in diversification took place.