Collaborative research: Phylogenomic analyses of lorisiform primates using museum collections

该项目将通过调查加拉戈斯和懒猴的进化史来推进目前对灵长类动物生命之树的理解，这是一种难以捉摸的夜行灵长类动物，相对于其他灵长类动物群体，研究不足。研究人员将对尚未获得基因组数据的十个加拉戈和懒猴属的全基因组进行测序。他们还将从博物馆收藏的大量灵长类动物标本中生成基因组数据。通过结合这些前所未有的数据集，本研究将解决有关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，特别是对加拉戈斯和懒猴的研究，这两种动物在野外很难取样。这项研究和数据库也将为加拉戈斯和懒猴的保护提供信息，其中许多是高度濒危的物种。研究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。研究人员还将通过开发关于博物馆藏品和系统基因组学在生物多样性保护中的应用的开放获取教学模块，为更广泛的培训做出贡献。了解灵长类动物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。对于像加拉戈斯和懒猴这样的小型夜行动物和难以捉摸的灵长类动物来说，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懒猴（加拉戈斯和懒猴）进化史的认识。通过为这一未被充分研究的灵长类动物群体提供基因组数据，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标本的基因组序列，其中包括目前已知的所有lorisiforma物种。这个庞大的比较数据集将用于1)推断灵长类动物树的全面图景，包括对各个分支的时间估计；2)鉴定隐物种多样性；3)为保护濒临灭绝的猴形目动物提供更有力的科学依据。与体型较大的灵长类动物相比，猴形目动物在研究和保护方面通常被忽视。本项目由行为与认知科学部生物人类学研究方向和环境生物学部系统学与生物多样性科学研究集群共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.