Tackling the species problem: theory and application in plant -feeding insects

解决物种问题：食草昆虫的理论与应用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-06287
• 负责人: Favret, Colin
• 金额: $ 1.75万
• 依托单位: Université de Montréal
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=650530
• 关键词: Tackling; species; problem; theory; application

Biological diversity and evolutionary success are often measured in terms of species numbers, but for many groups of organisms, it is difficult to determine where one species ends and another begins. This uncertainty has its origins in the evolutionary processes that create those species in the first place. The research programme will address both theoretical and practical aspects of the “species problem”, examining the processes that create species and developing methods to circumscribe and describe them.******Insects account for more than half of all described life on Earth. As with other insects, sap-feeding, host specialist aphids, diversified with the radiation of angiosperm plants. One of the most diverse aphid groups is an exception, however, having switched from angiosperm onto conifer hosts. Whereas most species of this group feed on woody parts of their hosts, those of four other groups feed exclusively on pine needles. Sharing the same ecological niche, these needle-feeding lineages represent evolutionary replicates of host- and niche-specialization and diversification. Did these independent lineages diversify in similar ways? Did the similar environmental pressures experienced by each group lead to evolutionary convergence, or did each lineage evolve in its own way? Answering these questions will shed light on the processes that led to the incredible diversification of the insects. The first objective of the research is to use DNA sequence and ecological data to compare the relative importance of plant host, bacterial symbiont, and geographic factors to the speciation of these aphids.******In aphids, host plant association is often used both to discover new species and to identify them, a problematic circularity because host plants are known to affect aphid development and what they look like. The second objective of the research is to use modern genetic methods to thoroughly delimit the conceptual boundaries between species. Different groups will be examined and compared to see if the same methods can be applied across all aphids.******For the third objective, the project will make sure the species we examine are properly and fully described and catalogued online. Novel computer methods will speed up the descriptive process, including the publication of museum specimens digitally imaged in three dimensions. They will form a virtual reference collection, providing researchers and insect identifiers an unprecedented research tool.******Aphids are among the most economically devastating pests of agriculture. Considerable resources are expended trying to understand the biology of different species and to discriminate pest and non-pest species. The proposed project will dramatically accelerate our capacity to understand aphid species and bring new understanding to the nature of species in general and insect species in particular.

生物多样性和进化的成功通常是用物种数量来衡量的，但对于许多生物群体来说，很难确定一个物种在哪里结束，另一个物种在哪里开始。这种不确定性源于最初创造这些物种的进化过程。该研究计划将处理“物种问题”的理论和实践两个方面，检查创造物种的过程，并开发限制和描述它们的方法。******昆虫占地球上所有已知生命的一半以上。与其他昆虫一样，以汁液为食的蚜虫也随着被子植物的辐射而多样化。然而，最多样化的蚜虫群体之一是一个例外，它从被子植物转向了针叶树宿主。虽然这一组的大多数物种以寄主的木质部分为食，但其他四组的物种只以松针为食。共享相同的生态位，这些食针谱系代表了宿主和生态位专业化和多样化的进化复制。这些独立的血统是否以类似的方式多样化？是每个群体所经历的相似环境压力导致了进化趋同，还是每个谱系都以自己的方式进化？回答这些问题将有助于揭示导致昆虫惊人多样化的过程。本研究的第一个目的是利用DNA序列和生态学数据比较植物寄主、细菌共生体和地理因素对这些蚜虫物种形成的相对重要性。******在蚜虫中，寄主植物关联通常用于发现新物种和识别它们，这是一个有问题的循环，因为已知寄主植物会影响蚜虫的发育和它们的样子。研究的第二个目标是利用现代遗传方法彻底划定物种之间的概念界限。不同的群体将被检查和比较，看看是否同样的方法可以适用于所有蚜虫。******对于第三个目标，该项目将确保我们检查的物种在网上得到适当和完整的描述和编目。新颖的计算机方法将加速描述过程，包括以三维数字图像出版博物馆标本。它们将形成一个虚拟参考集合，为研究人员和昆虫识别者提供一个前所未有的研究工具。******蚜虫是农业中最具经济破坏性的害虫之一。人们花费了大量的资源来了解不同物种的生物学特性，并区分有害物种和非有害物种。这个项目将极大地提高我们了解蚜虫物种的能力，并对物种的本质，特别是昆虫物种，带来新的认识。