NSFDEB-NERC: Integrating Computational, Phenotypic, and Population-Genomic Approaches to Reveal Processes of Cryptic Speciation and Gene Flow in Madagascars Mouse Lemurs

NSFDEB-NERC：整合计算、表型和群体基因组方法来揭示马达加斯加小鼠狐猴的隐秘物种形成和基因流过程

• 批准号: 2148914
• 负责人: Anne Yoder
• 金额: $ 139.98万
• 依托单位: Duke University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-02-15 至 2026-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2148914&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSFDEB; NERC; Integrating; Computational; Phenotypic

Human beings, like all other species, require a healthy environment in order to thrive and, ultimately, survive. Biodiversity — the variety of plants and animals in a given habitat — is the key factor in the health of any environment. We see that biodiversity is presently under extreme threat, however, largely from human impacts such as deforestation and climate change. In order to accurately gauge the nature of that threat, it is essential that scientists establish agreed-upon methods for recognizing the distribution and abundance of species, as well as the mechanism, known as speciation, by which they are formed. This is a complicated task because speciation is usually driven by a complex intersection of biological, geological, and climatological forces. To address this challenge, the project will use an integrated approach that combines computer science, field observation, and genomic analysis to reveal the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity via speciation. The project will focus on an area of Madagascar where habitat fragmentation is threatening the survival of unique and irreplaceable biodiversity. In addition to generating important new knowledge about the processes that drive and delimit speciation, the project will include training and mentorship of students across a range of educational levels. This training is critical for empowering the next generation of conservation scientists so that they can mitigate the environmental challenges that the world faces today and in the years to come.The research focuses on mouse lemurs, which are the world's smallest primates and are unique to Madagascar. These primates are of special biological interest given that they are morphologically and ecologically similar but are genetically highly distinct. This pattern of phenotypic similarity and genetic divergence among species has been observed across the tree of life and is generally referred to as cryptic species diversity. Cryptic species are perplexing to speciation biologists because the indicators of their species identity are hidden to the human eye, thus challenging our ability to accurately measure threatened biodiversity. This project aims to develop and apply a novel and generalizable approach for understanding speciation mechanisms in mouse lemurs specifically, and cryptic species radiations generally. The project builds on current research that indicates that mouse lemurs are highly speciose having experienced episodic bursts of lineage diversification consistent with the climatic cycles of the Pleistocene. Key outcomes of the project will be (1) the development of computational tools for identifying the magnitude, direction, and rate of genetic exchange among lineages, (2) a unique understanding of the roles of ecology, metabolism, and sensory communication for inhibiting reproduction among species, and (3) in those cases where interspecific reproduction occurs, the project will illuminate the role of genomic architecture in compromising the reproductive potential of hybrid individuals. The research will leverage powerful computational innovations for estimating patterns of gene exchange among diverging lineages, new technologies for tracking and monitoring small nocturnal mammals, and methods for applying long-read sequencing technologies for generating genomic resources. Ultimately, this research will help differentiate the effects of natural versus anthropogenic climate change for assessing the health of earth's biodiversity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

与所有其他物种一样，人类需要一个健康的环境才能蓬勃发展，并最终生存。生物多样性 - 给定栖息地中各种动植物的多样性是任何环境健康的关键因素。我们看到，生物多样性是在极端威胁下呈现的，但是主要来自人类的影响，例如森林砍伐和气候变化。为了准确评估这种威胁的性质，必须建立同意的方法来识别物种的分布和抽象以及形成它们的规范的机制，这一点至关重要。这是一项复杂的任务，因为规范通常是由生物，地质和气候力量的复杂交集驱动的。为了应对这一挑战，该项目将使用一种集成方法，将计算机科学，现场观察和基因组分析结合起来，以揭示通过规范生成和维持生物多样性的过程。该项目将重点放在马达加斯加的一个地区，在马达加斯加的栖息地破裂威胁着独特和不可替代的生物多样性的生存。除了对驱动和划界规范的过程产生重要的新知识外，该项目还将包括对各种教育水平的学生的培训和心态。这项培训对于赋予下一代保护科学家的能力至关重要，以便他们可以减轻当今世界和未来几年面临的环境挑战。研究的重点是老鼠狐猴，这是世界上最小的私人，是马达加斯加独有的。鉴于它们在形态和生态上相似，但在遗传上是高度差异的，这些私人具有特殊的生物学兴趣。在整个生命树中都观察到了这种表型相似性和遗传差异的模式，通常被称为加密物种多样性。神秘的物种对物种生物学家感到困惑，因为它们的物种身份的指标被隐藏在人眼中，因此挑战了我们准确衡量威胁性生物多样性的能力。该项目旨在开发和采用一种新颖且可推广的方法来理解小鼠狐猴中的物种形成机制，并且通常通常会辐射加密物种。该项目以当前的研究为基础，表明小鼠狐猴具有高度特异性的，经历了与更新世的慢性循环一致的谱系多样化爆发。该项目的关键结果将是（1）开发用于识别谱系之间遗传交换的大小，方向和速率的计算工具，（2）对生态学，代谢和抑制物种的感觉沟通的独特理解，以抑制物种生殖的作用，而（3）在那些具有跨性生殖的作用的情况下，在这些情况下，概念构成了构造的构造，构造了构造的构造，构造了构造的构造，并构成了构造的范围。个人。该研究将利用强大的计算创新来估计分歧谱系之间的基因交换模式，用于跟踪和监视小型夜间哺乳动物的新技术以及用于应用长阅读测序技术来生成基因组资源的方法。最终，这项研究将有助于区分自然与人为气候变化对评估地球生物多样性健康的影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响来评估NSF的法定任务，并被认为是诚实的支持。