DISSERTATION RESEARCH: A Phylogenetic Context for the extent of Genomic Introgression between Spotted and Barred Owls

横斑猫头鹰和斑点猫头鹰最近在接触，它们现在在北美西部广泛共存并杂交。其他21种林鸮中有7种也是杂交的。该项目将使用新的基因组测序方法来推断这些猫头鹰物种的进化关系。它还将确定杂交的物种是否在最近发生了分化，或者它们是否在地理上其他地方发生了分化，并在最近发生了接触。此外，这项研究将为如何最经济有效地解锁博物馆标本收藏的基因组资源提供信息。全基因组数据将对这两个相互竞争和杂交的猫头鹰物种的生物地理历史和遗传差异有更深入的了解，并将有助于阐明现代物种范围转移的遗传含义。该项目还将培训一名全职研究生，学习实验室和分析技术，包括基因组数据的生成和解释。本项目将使用先前组装的斑点猫头鹰（Strix occidentalis）基因组作为资源，在全基因组范围内分析斑点猫头鹰和横斑猫头鹰之间的繁殖。研究人员将采用序列捕获方法获得分布在21个Strix属物种基因组中的标记的DNA序列。这些数据将用于构建多位点系统发育，以解决以下问题：1)斑点猫头鹰的系统发育关系，2)目前杂交的Strix物种的进化和生物地理历史，以及3)两种不同的序列捕获方法（超保守元件和限制性酶消化标记）中哪一种从博物馆标本中分离的降解DNA中捕获最多信息的数据。利用组装的参考斑点猫头鹰基因组，本研究将确定在他们的分析中捕获和检查的区域的精确基因组位置，并确定其他Strix物种的种间杂交是否发生在最近分化的分类群之间，或者杂交分类群是否在地理上其他地方分化并新近接触。

The ranges of Barred and Spotted Owls have recently come in contact, and they now broadly co-occur and hybridize across western North America. Seven of the other twenty-one wood owl species also hybridize. This project will use new genomic sequencing methods to infer the evolutionary relationships of these owl species. It also will determine whether the species that hybridize recently diverged or whether they diverged elsewhere geographically and have recently come into contact. In addition, this research will provide information on how best to cost-effectively unlock the genomic resources of museum specimen collections. Genome-wide data will produce a deeper understanding of the biogeographic history and genetic divergence of these two competing and hybridizing owl species and will help elucidate the genetic implications of modern species range shifts. This project will also train one full-time graduate student in laboratory and analysis techniques, including the generation and interpretation of genomic data. This project will use a previously assembled Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis) genome as a resource to analyze breeding between Spotted and Barred Owls at a genome-wide scale. Researchers will employ sequence-capture methodology to obtain DNA sequences of markers distributed across the genome for 21 species within the genus Strix. These data will be used to construct a multilocus phylogeny to address questions concerning the following: 1) the phylogenetic relationship of the Spotted and Barred Owl, 2) the evolutionary and biogeographic history of currently hybridizing Strix species, and 3) which of two different sequence capture methods (ultra conserved elements and restriction enzyme digest markers) captures the most informative data from degraded DNA isolated from museum specimens. Utilizing the assembled reference Spotted Owl genome, this research will identify the precise genomic locations of the regions captured and examined in their analyses, and determine whether the instances of interspecific hybridization in other Strix species occur between recently diverged taxa or whether the hybridizing taxa diverged elsewhere geographically and have newly contacted.