Probing Biodiversity Through DNA Barcodes

分类学、生态学和进化都是研究生命多样性的学科。分类学家试图描述生物多样性的特征，而进化论者则从分子到形态的各个层面探索导致生物多样性的力量。生态学家从不同的角度看待生物多样性；他们试图了解种群的动力学和群落的聚集规则。这三个学科都面临着一个重要的工作障碍；大多数物种是未知的，已知物种的鉴定是复杂的。我的研究重点是通过创建一个基于dna的识别系统来解决分类障碍，从而增强生物多样性科学的能力。我的工作利用了这样一个事实，即基因组短而标准化区域的序列多样性对物种发现和鉴定非常有效。这种方法被称为DNA条形码，作为一种变革性技术已经获得了全球的认可。我的研究团队发挥着关键作用，因为我们运营着最大的条形码分析设施和存储条形码数据的信息学平台。有了这个基础设施，我的NSERC发现基金就可以着手大型项目，否则这些项目是不可能完成的。在未来的五年里，我将在加拿大北极地区的一个地点完成所有动物物种的条形码参考库，并在澳大利亚、欧洲和北美三大洲开发鳞翅目的DNA条形码库。这些项目不仅有助于分类学的进步；他们将在前所未有的规模上提供比较序列数据，使探索物种年龄、形态特征的进化轨迹和线粒体基因组进化的调节剂等重要问题成为可能。我的研究活动的最后一个领域集中在简化用于物种描述的协议，并展示基于dna的方法可以对生物监测项目做出的强大贡献。我的整体研究计划具有重要的实际应用；它有望更好地保护林业和农业，更早地拦截入侵物种，增强生态系统监测能力，并有助于保护项目。

Taxonomy, ecology, and evolution are all disciplines that probe life's diversity. Taxonomists seek to characterize biodiversity, while evolutionists probe the forces responsible for its diversification at levels ranging from molecules to morphology. Ecologists view biodiversity from a different perspective; they seek to understand the kinetics of populations and the assembly rules of communities. All three disciplines confront an important barrier to their work; most species are unknown and the identification of known species is complex. My research is focused on empowering biodiversity science by creating a DNA-based identification system that resolves the taxonomic impediment. My work exploits the fact that sequence diversity in short, standardized regions of the genome is extremely effective in species discovery and identification. Termed DNA barcoding, this approach has gained global acceptance as transformative technology. My research team plays a critical role as we operate both the largest facility for barcode analysis and the informatics platform which stores barcode data. Access to this infrastructure allows my NSERC Discovery Grant to attack large-scale projects that would otherwise be impossible. Over the next five years, I will complete a barcode reference library for all animal species at a site in the Canadian arctic and develop DNA barcode libraries for the Lepidoptera on three continents - Australia, Europe and North America. These projects will not only aid taxonomic progress; they will provide comparative sequence data on an unprecedented scale, making it possible to probe important issues such as species ages, evolutionary trajectories in morphological traits and the modulators of mitochondrial genome evolution. My final area of research activity focuses on simplifying the protocols employed for species description and showing the powerful contribution that DNA-based approaches can make to bio-surveillance projects. My overall research program has important practical applications; it promises better protection of forestry and agriculture, earlier interception of invasive species, an enhanced capacity of ecosystem monitoring and an aid to conservation programs.