ATOL: Collaborative Research - Assembling the Liverwort Tree of Life: A Window into the Evolution and Diversification of Early Land Plants

ATOL：合作研究 - 组装地钱生命树：了解早期陆地植物进化和多样化的窗口

• 批准号: 0531557
• 负责人: Bernard Goffinet
• 金额: $ 57.31万
• 依托单位: University of Connecticut
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-01-01 至 2012-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0531557&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ATOL; Collaborative; Research; Assembling; Liverwort

This project aims to resolve the liverwort Tree Of Life. There is mounting evidence that liverworts (Phylum Marchantiophyta) were the first green plants to diversify on land some 500,000 million years ago and as such they are the oldest living lineage of terrestrial organisms. This species-rich group of small green plants is remarkably diverse in structure, and includes extremely ancient relictual lineages as well as more recent radiations of closely related species. The antiquity of liverworts and the rich biodiversity at all taxonomic levels provide an unparalleled window into early land plant diversification. This collaborative effort brings together experts from around the world for a multidisciplinary, highly integrated approach that combines anatomical and developmental features with DNA sequence and genome structural characters to resolve phylogenetic relationships across the entire spectrum of liverwort diversity. Three general types of data will be compiled: 1) conservative morphological and genome characters to resolve deep "backbone" relationships, 2) anatomical/developmental data to resolve intermediate-depth lineages, and 3) morphological and DNA sequence characters to resolve relationships among a sample of 800 taxa representing all genera of liverworts. A second major goal of the project is to integrate phylogenetic inferences and bionformatic efforts between this and other on-going NSF-supported projects, including several funded ATOL programs. These integrative activities include contributions to studies of genome structure and evolution across land plants, expansions of novel informatic tools to make methods, results, and implications widely accessible, and continued development of DNA sequence utilities that will benefit a broad range of scientists working on diverse organisms. This project relies on the cooperation with and integration among research programs focused on resolving the green plant Tree Of Life. Integrative activities are substantive and consequential, and include expansions to phylogenetic databases and methodological/conceptual aspects of work toward resolving the Tree Of Life. At least six post-doctoral associates and as many graduate students will be supported by the project, with substantial involvement of undergraduates as well. An effort to involve and retain individuals from underrepresented groups will be orchestrated through established federal programs that focus on such initiatives, including the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation and the McNair Scholars Program. A solid mentoring infrastructure will be developed within each research team to provide support and professional experiences that ensure productivity and success of all participants. Outreach efforts include web presentations on the morphology and identification of liverworts for educators at all levels, development of web-based materials and a workshop targeting secondary school teachers, and increasing public awareness through weekend field excursions.

该项目旨在解决生命的利弗沃特树。 有越来越多的证据表明，利弗沃特（Marthantiophyta）是大约5亿年前在土地上多样化的绿色植物，因此它们是陆地生物的最古老的生命谱系。 这一物种丰富的小型绿色植物在结构上非常多样化，包括极其古老的遗传谱系以及最近相关物种的最新辐射。 Liverworts的古代和所有分类学水平上丰富的生物多样性为早期土地植物多样化提供了无与伦比的窗口。这种合作的努力将来自世界各地的专家汇集了多学科，高度综合的方法，该方法将解剖学和发育特征与DNA序列和基因组结构特征结合在一起，以解决整个LiverWort多样性范围内的系统发育关系。将汇编三种一般类型的数据类型：1）保守的形态和基因组特征，以解决深层的“骨干”关系，2）解剖/发育数据，以解决中间深度谱系，3）形态和DNA序列特征以解决800个代表所有liverworts属的分类的样本之间的关系。 该项目的第二个主要目标是整合该和其他正在进行的NSF支持的项目（包括几个资助的ATOL计划）之间的系统发育推断和繁殖的努力。这些综合活动包括对跨陆地植物的基因组结构和进化的研究的贡献，扩展了新型信息工具，以使方法，结果和含义广泛访问，以及持续开发DNA序列公用事业，这些实用程序将使广泛的科学家受益于从事多种生物体的科学家。 该项目依靠与研究绿色植物生命树的研究计划之间的合作和整合。综合活动是实质性的，因此包括扩展到系统发育数据库以及解决生命之树的方法学/概念方面。 该项目将至少有六位博士后同事和许多研究生的支持，也有大量的本科生参与。将通过既定的联邦计划来精心策划和保留来自代表性不足团体的个人的努力，这些计划的重点是此类倡议，包括路易斯·斯托克斯联盟（Louis Stokes Alliance）参加少数群体参与和麦克奈尔学者计划。每个研究团队中将开发一个可靠的指导基础设施，以提供支持和专业经验，以确保所有参与者的生产力和成功。推广工作包括有关各级教育工作者的形态和鉴定的网络演讲，基于网络的材料的开发以及针对中学教师的研讨会，以及通过周末野外游览提高公众意识。