DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The phylogenetic history of Plestiodon and a new empirical perspective on multi-locus molecular dating methods

论文研究：Plestiodon 的系统发育史和多位点分子测年方法的新经验视角

基本信息

批准号：
0709885
负责人：
Jimmy McGuire
金额：
$ 1.2万
依托单位：
University of California-Berkeley
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2007
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2007-07-01 至 2009-06-30
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0709885&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
DISSERTATION RESEARCH phylogenetic history Plestiodon

项目摘要

Researchers have long recognized the potential explanatory power of precise molecular clocks for placing dates on important evolutionary events. Unfortunately, it is now recognized that molecular evolution often does not proceed in a clock-like fashion and development of more complex relaxed-clock methods is ongoing. A major goal of this study will be to evaluate the assumptions and behavior of newly developed relaxed-clock divergence dating methodologies in the context of a 20-locus empirical data set for the scincid lizard genus Plestiodon. Plestiodon lizards are a common subject of biological research and inhabit most of the United States, yet little is known about their evolutionary history. Identifying and dating biological events in the past is a fundamental goal of evolutionary biology. Chronology is central to analyses of historical biogeography, as well as to efforts to elucidate the rate at which a morphological structures, behaviors, or physiologies have evolved. It is furthermore important to place dates on critical evolutionary events, whether they be extinction events, historical human migration events, or epidemiological events associated with disease outbreak. The results of this research investigating the performance of recently developed molecular dating methodologies will be applicable to the entire field of molecular divergence dating and will improve the ability of biologists to estimate the timing of important biological events.

长期以来，研究人员已经认识到精确分子时钟的潜在解释能力，以将日期放置在重要的进化事件上。不幸的是，现在已经认识到，分子进化通常不会以时钟状的方式进行，并且正在进行更复杂的松弛锁定方法的发展。这项研究的一个主要目的是评估新开发的放松局限性差异约会方法的假设和行为，在针对Scincid蜥蜴属Plestiodon的20-Locus经验数据集的背景下。普雷斯蒂登蜥蜴是生物学研究的共同主题，居住在美国大部分地区，但对它们的进化史知之甚少。过去识别和约会生物学事件是进化生物学的基本目标。年表对于分析历史生物地理学以及阐明形态结构，行为或生理发展的速度的努力是至关重要的。此外，将日期放在关键进化事件上，无论是灭绝事件，历史移民事件还是与疾病爆发相关的流行病学事件。这项研究的结果研究了最近开发的分子约会方法的性能，将适用于整个分子差异测年的领域，并将提高生物学家估计重要生物事件时机的能力。