The role of hybridization in generating biodiversity: insights from genomics of Madagascars true lemurs (Eulemur)

生物学研究的一个基本目标是了解新物种是如何形成的，因为这个过程最终导致了地球上令人难以置信的生命多样性。物种形成的研究往往侧重于了解差异是如何积累的，以及杂交是如何停止的。然而，最近的研究表明，杂交--不同物种之间共享基因和特征--在整个生命树中很常见。杂交会在物种形成过程中扮演重要而被忽视的角色吗？为了帮助回答这个问题，这个项目将关注一群来自马达加斯加的灵长类动物，称为真正的狐猴，它们具有高度的物种多样性和有记录的杂交历史。研究人员将使用这些狐猴的遗传信息在多个层面上研究杂交的作用：它如何塑造基因组，它如何塑造新物种的形成，以及它如何塑造更长时间尺度的进化史。该项目将为马达加斯加学生、来自代表性不足群体的美国学生和保护从业者提供融合的机会，导致协同关系，并帮助保护马达加斯加独特而受威胁的生物多样性。该项目的首要目标是了解面对杂交和基因流动时新物种是如何形成的，并揭示这些过程的基因组特征。首先，将在真正的狐猴(Eulemur)内的一个杂交区检查基因流、选择和基因组结构的模式，在那里可以观察到物种形成过程。其次，研究人员将探索杂交和渐渗如何塑造所有尤勒穆人更深层次的进化史，并询问观察到的模式是否在整个支系中重复和可预测。最后，他们将汇集地理范围、饮食和社会行为的数据，以构建一个旨在理解促进杂交的外部因素的模型。该项目将深入了解世界上一个高度多样化地区的物种起源，并将为在分析中与基因流签名作斗争的系统学家提供有用的信息。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。

A fundamental goal in biological research is to understand how new species form, as this process has ultimately given rise to the incredible diversity of life on earth. Studies of species formation often focus on understanding how differences accumulate and interbreeding ceases. However, recent research has shown that hybridization – the sharing of genes and traits between different species – is common across the Tree of Life. Could hybridization play an important and overlooked role in the process of species formation? To help answer this question, this project will focus on a group of primates from Madagascar called the true lemurs, which have a high level of species diversity and a documented history of hybridization. The researchers will use genetic information from these lemurs to investigate the role of hybridization at multiple levels: how it shapes the genome, how it shapes the formation of new species, and how it shapes evolutionary history over longer timescales. This project will afford opportunities to integrate Malagasy students, U.S. students from underrepresented groups, and conservation practitioners, leading to synergistic relationships and helping to conserve Madagascar’s unique and threatened biodiversity.The overarching goals of this project are to understand how new species form in the face of hybridization and gene flow, and to expose the genomic signatures of these processes across a diversifying radiation. First, patterns of gene flow, selection, and genome architecture will be examined across a hybrid zone within the true lemurs (Eulemur) where the speciation process can be observed in action. Second, the researchers will explore how hybridization and introgression have shaped the deeper evolutionary history of all Eulemur and will ask whether the observed patterns are repeated and predictable across the clade. Finally, they will bring together data on geographic range, diet, and social behavior to construct a model aimed at understanding the extrinsic factors that facilitate hybridization. This project will yield insights into the origins of species in a hyperdiverse region of the world and will provide useful information to systematists contending with signatures of gene flow in their analyses.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.