DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Systematics and Biogeography of the Trypanosoma cruzi Clade

克氏锥虫是导致南美锥虫病的寄生虫，该疾病感染了拉丁美洲农村和美国南部的800万至900万人，尽管它很重要，但人们对这种寄生虫如何以及在哪里进化知之甚少。有相互竞争的假说指出，有袋类动物或蝙蝠是T。cruzi和它最近的亲戚，然后跳到其他哺乳动物，包括人类。然而，还没有收集到明确的数据来支持一种假设。本项目将透过从博物馆标本及当代标本中提取DNA序列数据，并进行分子系统发育及虫体地理分析，剖析哺乳动物锥虫的进化关系，以厘清这些寄生虫的宿主及地理来源，从而提高博物馆藏品对研究工作的重要性。此外，还将建立一个新的网站“PhyloTryp”，该网站将提供标准化工具和数据，以促进对锥虫的进化研究。最后，本科生的培训将通过AMNH REU计划完成。在课程结束时，学生将获得基本的实验室和分析技能，并与学员一起编写同行评审出版物。

Trypanosoma cruzi is the parasite that causes Chagas disease, which infects 8-9 million people in rural Latin America, and the Southern U.S. Despite its importance, little is known in terms of how and where this parasite evolved. There are competing hypotheses pointing either to marsupials or bats as original hosts of T. cruzi and its closest relatives before jumping to other mammals, including humans. However, no definitive data have been gathered to favor one hypothesis over the other. This project will dissect the evolutionary relationships among mammalian trypanosomes to clarify the host and geographic origins of these parasites through the generation of DNA sequence data from both museum specimens and contemporary samples followed by molecular phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses.This research will promote awareness of the importance of museum collections to research efforts. Also, a new website "PhyloTryp" will be implemented, which will provide standardized tools and data to facilitate evolutionary research on trypanosomes. Finally, the training of an undergraduate student will be accomplished through the AMNH REU program. By the end of the program, the student will have gained basic laboratory and analytical skills, and a peer-review publication will be prepared with the mentee.