COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: A Novel Phylogenetic Approach to the Analysis of Bat Phylogenetics and Morphological Evolution

即使是今天最广泛的分类学群体，也起源于遥远的过去，作为单一物种的多样化，其后代随后沿着自己的进化道路前进。虽然这些古老的多样性永远不会被直接观察到，但导致今天存在的类群辐射的模式和过程可以被研究。因此，为了真正理解生命之树是如何形成的，必须找到在较低的分类水平上分析全基因组数据的方法。这项研究将通过将新的高通量测序技术与现代进化分析相结合来实现这一目标。这种方法的潜力将被应用于一个难题--解决蝙蝠属蝙蝠属在新大陆的系统关系和形态进化模式。然而，虽然这项工作的重点是单个蝙蝠属，但该方法将广泛适用于反转录转座子(基因组中自扩增的中性遗传元件)在感兴趣的辐射期间活跃的任何分类群。即将开发的方法具有巨大的潜力，可以提供足够可变的标记来解决快速辐射问题，同时也可以直接进行分析。此外，由于这种方法预计将相对便宜，预计它将被证明对专注于解决密切相关物种之间关系的小型实验室很有吸引力。生物学的多个分支学科的整合是人们经常讨论的问题，但很少有人实现。这个项目代表了一种独特的尝试，利用基因组水平的数据和成熟的形态计量学分析来整合现代计算生物学工具。该项目将通过积累组织、皮肤和骨骼材料来填补Myotis属成员和非目标分类群的空白，从而为科学基础设施做出贡献。这些材料将存放在公共储存库(路易斯安那州立大学自然历史博物馆)，并将永久提供给科学界。最后，对当地社区的教育和推广将基于对一个有魅力的分类小组的调查，并将改善两个传统上不发达的州的研究和教育。

Even today's broadest taxonomic groups originated in the distant past as diversifications of single species, the progeny of which then proceeded along their own evolutionary paths. While these ancient diversifications will never be observed directly, patterns and processes leading to radiations of taxa that exist today can be studied. Thus, in order to truly understand how the tree of life came to be, ways to analyze genome-wide data at lower taxonomic levels must be found. The research will address this goal by integrating new, high throughput sequencing technologies with modern evolutionary analyses. The potential of this method will be explored by applying it to a difficult problem - the resolution of systematic relationships and patterns of morphological evolution in New World representatives of the bat genus Myotis. However, while the focus of this work is a single bat genus, the method will be broadly applicable to any taxonomic group in which retrotransposons (self-amplifying, neutral genetic elements in the genome) have been active during the radiation of interest. The methods to be developed have great potential in providing markers that are variable enough to resolve rapid radiations, while also being straightforward to analyze. Moreover, because this methodology is expected to be relatively inexpensive, it is anticipated that it will prove appealing to small labs that focus on resolving relationships among closely related species. The integration of multiple subdisciplines of Biology is often discussed but rarely realized. This project represents a unique attempt to integrate modern computational biological tools using genome level data and well established morphometric analyses. This project will contribute to the infrastructure of science by amassing tissue, skin and skeletal material that will fill gaps in terms of members of the genus Myotis and nontarget taxa. These materials will be deposited in a public repository (Museum of Natural History, LSU) and will be available in perpetuity to the scientific community. Finally, education and outreach to the local communities will be based on the investigation of a charismatic taxonomic group and will improve research and education in two traditionally underdeveloped states.