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

利用超保守元素的定向富集研究蚂蚁、黄蜂和蜜蜂（Hymenoptera Aculeata）的系统发育和多样化

• 批准号: 1555905
• 负责人: Bryan Danforth
• 金额: $ 85.06万
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-03-01 至 2022-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1555905&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Phylogeny; diversification; ants; wasps; bees

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.

地球上生命的一个普遍特征是，新物种形成的速度在不同的生物体中差异很大。生活史的变化等特征可能是这些比率之间巨大差异的一种解释。在昆虫中，已经研究了饮食、社会性和寄生模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，因此很难比较它们的个体影响。蚂蚁，黄蜂和蜜蜂（Aculeata）就是其中之一;它们的众多物种表现出生活史的多样性。 研究人员将使用新的基因组测序方法来揭示65，000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，黄蜂，黄夹克，蜜蜂和大黄蜂）和经济上重要的授粉昆虫（蜜蜂）的物种形成率差异提供重要的见解。这一项目将大大有助于发展科学专门知识和改善美国的基础设施。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。协议和数据将以电子方式提供。该项目将开发一个关于我们最重要的农业授粉者（蜜蜂）的生物多样性，进化历史和重要性的巡回公开展览。研究团队将利用DNA测序的新技术创新来产生大量数据集，以解决Aculeata的关系。使用基因组的高度保守区域（超保守元件），他们将丰富基因组文库中的感兴趣的基因。然后，这些富集的文库将使用最新的测序技术进行测序。使用生物信息学工具，数据集将被组装，对齐和分析，以重建有刺类群之间的进化关系，并确定何时何地发生了多样化的转变。