Collaborative research: Phylogenomic analyses of lorisiform primates using museum collections

这一项目将通过研究Galagos和懒猴的进化史来促进对灵长类生命树的当前理解，Galagos和懒猴是难以捉摸的夜间活动灵长类物种，相对于其他灵长类物种一直未得到充分的研究。研究人员将对尚未获得基因组数据的10个Galago属和懒猴属的整个基因组进行测序。他们还将从博物馆收藏的大量灵长类标本中产生基因组数据。通过结合这些史无前例的数据集，这项研究将解决关于这些灵长类群体的进化相关性、适应性和生物地理学的基本问题。该项目将产生一个免费访问的基因组数据库，为未来所有灵长类动物的研究提供重要资源，特别是对在野外极难采集样本的Galagos和懒猴来说。这项研究和数据库还将为加拉戈和懒猴的保护提供信息，其中许多已经高度濒危，濒临灭绝。调查人员将从圣安东尼奥(UTSA)和纽约(AMNH)历史上代表性不足的群体中招募研究生和本科生，并对他们进行生物信息学、分子实验室技术和保护科学方面的培训。调查人员还将通过开发关于博物馆藏品和系统发育学在生物多样性保护中的应用的开放式获取教学模块，促进更广泛的培训。了解灵长类的进化史以及适应和多样化的过程是生物人类学和生物学的一个重要研究目标。对于像Galagos和懒猴这样的小型夜间活动和难以捉摸的灵长类物种来说，这项任务尤其困难。这项研究将利用世界各地博物馆收藏的大量标本来提高我们对铃猴形目动物(Galagos和懒猴)进化史的了解。通过为这群研究不足的灵长类动物提供基因组数据，研究人员将能够解决有关它们的进化史、物种多样性和生物地理学的问题。研究人员将使用短读和长分子DNA测序相结合的方法来获得数百个样本的基因组序列，其中包括目前已知的所有具有Lorisiform的物种。这一大型比较数据集将被用来1)推断灵长类树的全面图景，包括对不同分支的时间估计；2)确定神秘的物种多样性；以及3)使更强大的科学基础，为濒危的长臂猿的保护提供信息，与较大的身体灵长类动物相比，在研究重点和保护关注方面通常都被忽视。该项目由行为和认知科学部门的生物人类学项目和环境生物学部门的系统学和生物多样性科学集群共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will advance current understanding of the primate tree of life by investigating the evolutionary history of galagos and lorises, which are elusive, nocturnal primate species that have been understudied relative to other primate groups. The investigators will sequence the whole genomes of ten galago and loris genera for which no genomic data are yet available. They will also generate genomic data from a large number of primate specimens stored in museum collections. By combining these unprecedented datasets, this research will address fundamental questions about evolutionary relatedness, adaptations, and biogeography in these primate groups. The project will result in a freely accessible genomic database representing an important resource for future studies of all primates and especially for the galagos and lorises, which are extremely difficult to sample in the wild. This research and the database will also inform the conservation of galagos and lorises, many of which are highly endangered with extinction. The investigators will recruit graduate and undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups in San Antonio (UTSA) and New York (AMNH), and train them in bioinformatics, molecular laboratory techniques, and conservation sciences. The investigators will also contribute to broader training through development of an open access teaching module on the applications of museum collections and phylogenomics to biodiversity conservation. Understanding primate evolutionary history and the processes of adaptation and diversification is a significant research goal within biological anthropology and biology. This task has been particularly difficult for small, nocturnal and elusive primate species like the galagos and lorises. This study will leverage the vast number of specimens housed in museum collections all over the world to improve our knowledge of the evolutionary history of the lorisiforms (galagos and lorises). By producing genomic data for this understudied group of primates, the investigators will be able to address questions about their evolutionary history, species diversity, and biogeography. The researchers will use a combination of short-read and long-molecule DNA sequencing to obtain genomic sequences of hundreds of specimens including all the known species currently recognized with the lorisiforms. This large comparative dataset will be used to 1) infer a comprehensive picture of the primate tree, including time estimates for the various branches; 2) identify cryptic species diversity; and 3) enable a stronger scientific basis to inform the conservation of endangered lorisiforms, which are typically neglected in both research focus and conservation attention in comparison to larger-bodied primates. This project is jointly funded by the Biological Anthropology program, Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, and the Systematics and Biodiversity Sciences Cluster, Division of Environmental Biology.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.