A phylogenomic approach to dating an ancient insect lineage

蚜虫、蓟马和虱子是农业和医学上重要的害虫，但这种多样化的昆虫群体的进化鲜为人知。这些植物和动物寄生虫之间是如何联系的？这些寄生虫是什么时候起源的？这些都是这个项目要调查的问题。DNA技术的最新进展，加上这些方法成本的降低，使得收集大量DNA数据来阐明这些害虫之间的关系成为可能。我们还能够开发新的分析方法，可以处理产生的海量数据。因此，我们现在将能够可靠地确定这一重要昆虫群体的起源和进化。

Aphids, thrips and lice are pests of agricultural and medical importance but the evolution of this diverse group of insects is poorly known. How are these plant and animal parasites related to one another? When did these parasites originate? These are the questions this project will investigate. The recent advances in DNA technology combined with the decreased costs of these methods make it possible to gather a large amount of DNA data to elucidate the relationships between these insect pests. We are also able to develop new analytical methods that can deal with the huge amount of data generated. As a result, we will now be able to reliably determine the origin and evolution of this important group of insects.