RAPID: Preserving Primate Data to Investigate the Relationship Between Skeletal Shape and Hybridization

杂交种是一种植物或动物的两个不同物种或变种的后代。最近的遗传证据表明，我们的人类祖先与其他人类物种杂交，这突出了我们自己进化过程中的杂交。如果在杂交骨骼形状上有可预测的模式，就有可能在古人类化石记录中找到杂交的证据，因为遗传数据并不总是可以恢复的。确定这种模式是否存在的一个好方法是研究与人类密切相关的物种的混合骨骼形状。该项目将保存杂交猕猴（猴）骨骼和相关的成像、遗传和生活史数据，这些数据将为杂交提供极好的比较数据，但这些数据有立即丢失的风险。这些猴子是杂交猕猴群体（中国猕猴和印度猕猴）的一部分，该群体不再扩大，因此随着个体动物的死亡，其规模也在下降。如果猴子的骨骼数据在死后没有保存下来，通常情况下它们是不会保存下来的，那么这种了解杂交的宝贵资源就会丢失。这项研究将通过收集混合骨骼遗骸和相关数据，使科学界受益。它还将支持国际合作以及学生指导和培训。最近有关古人类血统间基因流动的证据，已将混杂现象带到了人类学和公众兴趣的前沿。本研究将利用一种与人类密切相关的模式生物，制定检测混合骨骼证据的原则标准。具体来说，RAPID奖将允许对来自加州国家灵长类动物研究中心（CNPRC）的大约80只猕猴杂交体进行尸检保存和扫描，立即开始，以便它们的骨骼和相关数据可以成为用于解决杂交和其他研究课题的有价值的收藏品的一部分。杂交猕猴群体的磨损率很高，如果不从现在开始保存个体动物，可能无法获得该群体的代表性样本（就杂交状态而言）。研究人员计划利用收集到的骨骼（估计n=200）来量化和模拟杂交表型变异，评估区分杂交和非杂交的判别函数，并开发基于骨骼表型的古人类和其他分类群杂交检测模型。已知谱系的大型基因型灵长类样本非常罕见。骨骼样本和相关数据将在加州大学戴维斯分校进行整理，并提供给其他研究人员。收集和相关的研究问题可能会引起包括灵长类学、生物学、动物学和数量遗传学在内的学科的兴趣。

Hybrids are the offspring of two different species or varieties of a plant or animal. Recent genetic evidence suggesting that our hominin ancestors interbred with other hominin species has highlighted hybridization in our own evolutionary past. If there are predictable patterns in hybrid skeletal shape, it might be possible to identify evidence of hybrids in the hominin fossil record, for which genetic data are not always recoverable. A good way to determine whether such patterns exist is to study hybrid skeletal shape in species that are closely related to humans. This project will preserve hybrid macaque (monkey) skeletons and related imaging, genetic, and life history data that would provide excellent comparative data on hybridization, but that are at immediate risk of being lost. The monkeys are part of a hybrid macaque colony (Chinese and Indian Macaca mulatta) that is no longer being expanded and is therefore declining in size as individual animals die. If the monkeys' skeletal data are not preserved after death, and normally they are not, this valuable resource to understand hybridization will be lost. This study will benefit the scientific community by producing a curated research collection of hybrid skeletal remains and associated data. It will also support international collaborations and student mentorship and training. Recent evidence of gene flow among archaic human lineages has brought admixture to the forefront of anthropological and public interest. This study will develop principled criteria for detecting skeletal evidence of admixture, using a model organism that is closely related to humans. Specifically, the RAPID award will allow for postmortem preservation and scanning of approximately 80 macaque hybrids from the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC), starting immediately, so that their skeletons and related data can become part of a valuable collection used to address hybridization and other research topics. Attrition in the hybrid macaque colony is high, and a representative sample of the colony (in terms of hybrid status) may not be possible to acquire if individual animals are not preserved starting now. The investigators plan to use the resulting skeletal collection (estimated n=200) to quantify and model hybrid phenotypic variation, evaluate discriminant functions to distinguish hybrids from non-hybrids, and develop models for detecting hybridization in hominins and other taxa on the basis of skeletal phenotype. Large, genotyped primate samples of known pedigree are very rare. The skeletal sample and associated data will be curated at UC Davis and made available to other researchers. The collection and related research questions are likely to be of interest in disciplines including primatology, biology, zoology, and quantitative genetics.