Conservation genomics of the Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) using Next-Generation Sequencing methods.

拟议项目的重点是比利牛斯山desman (Galemys pyrenaicus)，一种伊比利亚半岛特有的小型半水生哺乳动物。它是欧洲栖息地指令的重点物种，濒临灭绝。任何保护措施都需要有关其遗传多样性和系统地理结构的信息。此前，巴塞罗那Biología进化研究所csicc - upf （IBE）的Jose Castresana小组进行了一项研究，揭示了比利牛斯人的四种不同的遗传谱系。然而，它也表明其整体遗传多样性很低，这意味着传统的测序方法无法提供足够的分辨率来得出这些结果的保护重要性的结论。在这个由IBE主持的项目中，下一代测序（NGS）方法将用于进一步研究比利牛斯人的群体基因组学。这些方法在系统遗传学、系统地理学和物种保护方面尚未广泛建立，但可以为传统DNA测序无法正确执行的问题提供高信息量的数据。申请人已于2013年完成博士论文，就其职业生涯阶段而言，已经有了丰富的科研经验，发表了14篇科学论文，主要集中在分子系统发育方面。他将接受NGS技术和生物信息学方面的培训，以及科学写作和研究管理等额外技能，这对他作为系统生物学研究人员的职业发展非常重要。东道主在比利牛斯人的遗传学、基因组学和生物信息学方面具有重要的知识。该项目的结果预计将通过获得基本技能来促进申请人作为德国研究人员的预期职业生涯，并为保护这一受威胁物种作出重要贡献。它们还将有助于提高公众对保护欧洲特有物种重要性的认识。

The proposed project focuses on the Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus), a small semi-aquatic mammal endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. It is a focal species of the European Habitats Directive and highly threatened by extinction. Any measures for its conservation require information on its genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure. A previous study conducted by the group of Jose Castresana at the Instituto de Biología Evolutiva CSIC-UPF (IBE) in Barcelona revealed four distinct genetic lineages in the Pyrenean desman. However, it also showed that its overall genetic diversity is very low, implying that traditional sequencing methods cannot provide sufficient resolution to allow conclusions on the conservation importance of these results. In this project hosted by the IBE, Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) methods will be used to further investigate into the population genomics of the Pyrenean desman. These methods are not yet widely established in phylogenetics, phylogeography and conservation, but may yield highly informative data for questions in which traditional DNA sequencing cannot perform properly. The applicant has finished his PhD thesis in 2013 and, considering his career stage, has already ample research experience with 14 scientific papers, mainly in molecular phylogenetics. He will receive training in NGS techniques and bioinformatics, as well as in additional skills such as scientific writing and research management, which will be highly important in the development of his career as a researcher in systematic biology. The host group has crucial knowledge in the genetics of the Pyrenean desman, genomics and bioinformatics. The results of the project are expected to promote the expected career of the applicant as a researcher in Germany by acquiring essential skills and to be a crucial contribution to the conservation of this threatened species. They will also help increasing the public awareness for the importance of the conservation of endemic European species.