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，但导致今天存在的分类群辐射的模式和过程是可以研究的。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。该研究将通过整合新的高通量测序技术与现代进化分析来解决这一目标。这种方法的潜力将通过将其应用于一个难题-解决新世界蝙蝠属代表的系统关系和形态进化模式来探索。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任何在感兴趣的辐射期间具有反转录转座子（基因组中自我扩增的中性遗传元件）活性的分类类群。待开发的方法在提供足够可变的标记物以分辨快速辐射方面具有很大的潜力，同时也易于分析。此外，由于这种方法预计相对便宜，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具有吸引力。生物学多个分支学科的整合经常被讨论，但很少实现。该项目代表了利用基因组水平数据和完善的形态计量学分析整合现代计算生物学工具的独特尝试。该项目将通过收集组织，皮肤和骨骼材料来填补肌炎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。这些材料将被存放在公共储存库（自然历史博物馆，LSU），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学团体的调查，并将改善两个传统上不发达国家的研究和教育。

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.