The role of hybridization in generating biodiversity: insights from genomics of Madagascars true lemurs (Eulemur)

杂交在产生生物多样性中的作用：来自马达加斯加真狐猴（Eulemur）基因组学的见解

• 批准号: 2207198
• 负责人: David Weisrock
• 金额: $ 67.78万
• 依托单位: University of Kentucky Research Foundation
• 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: 2022-08-01 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2207198&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: role; hybridization; generating; biodiversity; insights

A fundamental goal in biological research is to understand how new species form, as this process has ultimately given rise to the incredible diversity of life on earth. Studies of species formation often focus on understanding how differences accumulate and interbreeding ceases. However, recent research has shown that hybridization – the sharing of genes and traits between different species – is common across the Tree of Life. Could hybridization play an important and overlooked role in the process of species formation? To help answer this question, this project will focus on a group of primates from Madagascar called the true lemurs, which have a high level of species diversity and a documented history of hybridization. The researchers will use genetic information from these lemurs to investigate the role of hybridization at multiple levels: how it shapes the genome, how it shapes the formation of new species, and how it shapes evolutionary history over longer timescales. This project will afford opportunities to integrate Malagasy students, U.S. students from underrepresented groups, and conservation practitioners, leading to synergistic relationships and helping to conserve Madagascar’s unique and threatened biodiversity.The overarching goals of this project are to understand how new species form in the face of hybridization and gene flow, and to expose the genomic signatures of these processes across a diversifying radiation. First, patterns of gene flow, selection, and genome architecture will be examined across a hybrid zone within the true lemurs (Eulemur) where the speciation process can be observed in action. Second, the researchers will explore how hybridization and introgression have shaped the deeper evolutionary history of all Eulemur and will ask whether the observed patterns are repeated and predictable across the clade. Finally, they will bring together data on geographic range, diet, and social behavior to construct a model aimed at understanding the extrinsic factors that facilitate hybridization. This project will yield insights into the origins of species in a hyperdiverse region of the world and will provide useful information to systematists contending with signatures of gene flow in their analyses.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.

生物学研究的一个基本目标是了解新物种是如何形成的，因为这一过程最终导致了地球上令人难以置信的生命多样性。表明杂交（不同物种之间共享基因和性状）在生命之树中很常见，杂交是否在物种形成过程中发挥着重要且被忽视的作用？为了帮助回答这个问题，该项目将重点关注一个群体。来自马达加斯加的灵长类动物被称为真正的狐猴具有高度的物种多样性和有记录的杂交历史，研究人员将利用这些狐猴的遗传信息来研究杂交在多个层面上的作用：它如何塑造基因组，如何塑造新物种的形成。 ，以及它如何在更长的时间尺度上塑造进化历史。该项目将为马达加斯加学生、来自代表性不足群体的美国学生和保护从业者提供机会，从而形成协同关系并帮助保护马达加斯加的独特和受威胁的物种。该项目的首要目标是了解新物种在杂交和基因流中如何形成，并通过多样化的辐射揭示这些过程的基因组特征。首先，基因流、选择和基因组结构的模式。将在真正的狐猴（Eulemur）内的一个杂交区域进行检查，在那里可以观察到物种形成过程的实际情况。 其次，研究人员将探索杂交和基因渗入如何塑造了所有狐猴更深层次的进化历史，并询问观察到的模式是否存在。被重复最后，他们将汇集有关地理范围、饮食和社会行为的数据，构建一个模型，旨在了解促进杂交的外在因素。该项目将深入了解高度多样化地区的物种起源。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。