Collaborative Research: The evolution of the anthropoid genome

合作研究：类人猿基因组的进化

• 批准号: 1640500
• 负责人: Mark Shriver
• 金额: $ 3万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-01-15 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1640500&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; evolution; anthropoid; genome

The goal of this collaborative research is to use genomic data to address fundamental questions about the evolution of primates. The investigators will sequence the genomes of the roughly 36 anthropoid (monkey and ape) genera for which little or no genomic data are available. Comparisons of the genomes of different but closely related organisms can yield many insights into their biology, such as which areas of the genome affect traits of biological importance, and when important branching events occurred in the primate tree of life. Studies of monkey and ape genomes also provide comparative data for understanding what is unique about the human genome. This research will result in a freely accessible anthropoid primate genomic database and will facilitate the training of graduate, undergraduate, and high school students, including students from New York City public schools, in state-of-the-art bioinformatics as well as molecular laboratory techniques.Identifying patterns of variation in DNA substitutions and understanding their causes is a central goal of comparative genetics. Genomic regions that depart from 'baseline' neutral rates of molecular evolution may have biological function and therefore influence adaptive phenotypes. The power of many comparative analyses improves when more species from major branches of the tree of life are included. Up to now, relatively few monkey species have been the target of large-scale sequencing efforts. The researchers will use a combination of short-read and long-molecule DNA sequencing to obtain genomic sequences of ~36 anthropoid genera and then combine these with the 12 that are already sequenced. With this large comparative dataset, the researchers will 1) infer the best possible primate tree, including estimates of the timing of splits among major branches; 2) determine which life history traits such as generation length cause variations in the rate of genomic evolution among monkey, ape, and human lineages; and 3) scan for areas of the genome of major branches of the anthropoid tree that might be of functional significance.

这项协作研究的目的是使用基因组数据来解决有关灵长类动物演变的基本问题。 研究者将对大约36个人类类动物（猴子和猿）的基因组进行测序，而基因组数据几乎没有或没有基因组数据。 比较不同但密切相关的生物体的基因组可以对其生物学产生许多见解，例如基因组的哪个区域会影响生物学重要性的特征，以及何时在生命的灵长类动物树中发生重要的分支事件。 对猴子和猿类基因组的研究还提供了比较数据，以了解人类基因组的独特之处。 这项研究将导致可自由访问的人为灵长类动物基因组数据库，并将促进培训毕业生，本科生和高中生，包括纽约市公立学校的学生，以最先进的生物信息学以及分子实验室技术的培训，以及识别DNA替代方案的变异模式和理解他们的核心目标。 偏离分子进化的“基线”中性速率的基因组区域可能具有生物学功能，因此影响适应性表型。 当包括更多生命树的主要分支物种时，许多比较分析的功能会提高。 到目前为止，相对较少的猴子物种一直是大规模测序工作的目标。 研究人员将使用短读和长分子DNA测序的组合来获得〜36拟人属属的基因组序列，然后将它们与已经测序的12个结合在一起。 使用这个大型比较数据集，研究人员将1）推断出最好的灵长类树，包括对主要分支机构分裂时机的估计； 2）确定诸如生成长度之类的生命历史特征会导致猴子，猿和人类谱系之间基因组进化率的变化； 3）扫描类人类树的主要分支基因组的区域，可能具有功能意义。