AToL: Collaborative: Phylogeny of Lepidoptera: A Genomics-inspired, Community Collaboration

这个合作的多学科项目将利用基因组学的最新进展——研究物种的完整遗传内容及其工作原理——极大地提高我们对鳞翅目昆虫（飞蛾和蝴蝶）进化关系的认识。一个大范围的“家谱”（系统发育，系谱）将使用大约250个物种的DNA序列进行估计，这些物种代表了鳞翅目目前划分的所有126个科。同时回顾已知的鳞翅目化石，将有助于估计主要类群起源的地质年代。在早期的“生命之树”项目中，通过基因组比较和筛选确定了24个基因，这些基因构成了迄今为止在大多数昆虫中可能存在的更大的基因组样本。除了提供一个“骨干”系统发育学之外，该项目还旨在促进世界范围内的社区努力，进一步解决鳞翅目树的问题，除了DNA外，还结合了更多来自解剖学和行为学的传统证据。每年的实验室研讨会将帮助其他鳞翅目学家应用为这个项目开发的众多基因，其方法将在网络上不断更新。一个由20名鳞翅目专家组成的国际网络将帮助选择物种并为项目DNA测序提供标本。这些专家还将共同编制首个全面的鳞翅目解剖学特征目录，为鳞翅目家谱提供潜在的信息，澄清那些混乱的术语，这些术语曾使以前试图利用这些特征来建立树的努力受挫。项目的一个中心功能，也借鉴了现代基因组学，将是一个交互式网站，允许项目团队和任何其他研究人员贡献和下载任何水平的鳞翅目系统发育的数据、方法、分析和评论。其目的是促进全球合作，并朝着完全解决问题的方向发展。该网站将以大多数现有证据为“种子”，以确保其他人可以在此基础上获得大量关键信息。通过对诸如生命之树等流行网站的贡献，同样的汇编将大大增加鳞翅目公共教育的可用资源。鳞翅目是最大的植物食性昆虫群，数量超过16万种。它们无处不在，为人熟知，是陆地生态系统的重要组成部分——没有它们，鸟类和蝙蝠吃什么呢？——而且可以说是对农业最具破坏性的害虫。鳞翅目是一种非常显眼的陆生非脊椎动物，被广泛用于生态系统评估、环境生物学教育和公众参与。它们也是许多生物研究领域的重要焦点生物。例如，鳞翅目的进化多样化与开花植物的兴起有关，始于恐龙时代，这在理解当今生物多样性起源的尝试中占有突出地位。一个得到充分证实的“家谱”对于理解鳞翅目进化的任何方面，以及构建分类是必不可少的，这使我们能够有效地组织和应用我们关于单个蛾和蝴蝶物种的大量知识。然而，迄今为止，在这一领域取得的进展相对较少。

This collaborative, multi-disciplinary project will exploit recent progress in genomics - the study of the complete genetic content of species and how it works - to greatly advance our knowledge of evolutionary relationships in the insect order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). A broad-scale "family tree" (phylogeny, genealogy) will be estimated using DNA sequences from approximately 250 species, representing all 126 families into which Lepidoptera are currently divided. A simultaneous review of known lepidopteran fossils will allow estimation of the geological ages of origin of the major groups. The 24 genes to be sequenced, identified by genome comparisons and screening in an earlier Tree of Life project, constitute far greater sampling of the genome than has heretofore been possible in most insects. Beyond providing a "backbone" phylogeny, the project is designed to catalyze a world-wide community effort to further resolve the lepidopteran tree, incorporating more traditional evidence from anatomy and behavior in addition to DNA. Annual lab workshops will help other lepidopterists to apply the numerous genes developed for this project, methods for which will be continuously updated on the web. An international network of 20 experts on Lepidoptera will help to choose species and provide specimens for project DNA sequencing. These experts will also jointly produce the first comprehensive catalog of anatomical features potentially informative about lepidopteran family genealogy, clarifying the chaotic terminology which has frustrated previous attempts to employ these traits for tree-building. A central project feature, also borrowed from modern genomics, will be an interactive website allowing the project team plus any other researcher to contribute and download data, methods, analysis and commentary on lepidopteran phylogeny at any level. The intent is to foster global cooperation and progress toward a fully-resolved tree. The web site will be "seeded" with most of the current evidence, to ensure a critical mass of information for others to build on. The same compilations will be used to greatly augment the available resources for public education on Lepidoptera, through contributions to popular web sites such as the Tree of Life. The Lepidoptera are the largest single group of plant-feeding insects, numbering over 160,000 species. Ubiquitous and familiar, they are both a vital component of terrestrial ecosystems - what would birds and bats eat without them?- and arguably the most damaging group of pests overall to agriculture. As unusually conspicuous terrestrial non-vertebrates, Lepidoptera are extensively used in ecosystem assessment, and for educating and involving the public in environmental biology. They are also important focal organisms in many areas of biological research. For example, the evolutionary diversification of Lepidoptera in association with the rise of flowering plants, beginning in the Age of Dinosaurs, has figured prominently in the attempt to understand the origins of today's biodiversity. A well- corroborated "family tree" is essential both for understanding any aspect of lepidopteran evolution, and for constructing classifications that let us effectively organize and apply our voluminous knowledge about individual moth and butterfly species. However, relatively little progress toward such a tree has heretofore been made.