Collaborative Research: Spatial phylogenomics and diet evolution of the megadiverse plant bugs (Hemiptera: Miridae)

合作研究：巨型植物昆虫（半翅目：蝽科）的空间系统发育和饮食进化

• 批准号: 2317209
• 负责人: Christiane Weirauch
• 金额: $ 105.9万
• 依托单位: University of California-Riverside
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2027-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2317209&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Spatial; phylogenomics; diet

This collaborative research project aims to investigate the evolution of the megadiverse plant bugs, the insect family Miridae. Plant bugs comprise over 11,350 described species and rank among the 20 most species-rich insect families. They play significant roles as both crop pests and beneficial predators in ecosystems. A massive biodiversity dataset has been compiled for Miridae through previous NSF-funded initiatives. However, due to the absence of comprehensive phylogenetic hypotheses, this dataset's potential to investigate biogeographic history and host plant evolution remains untapped. The research team will construct a phylogeny of plant bugs using ultraconserved element (UCE) data. This will enable the reconstruction of robust tribal and subtribal-level relationships, while investigating the temporal and dietary evolution of the group. The project will also examine the biogeographic history and host plant interactions of selected groups of plant bugs in Western North America, one of the hotspots of plant bug diversity. Finally, the team will study the phylogenetic diversity of plant bugs in the biodiversity hotspot California Floristic Province (CA-FP), revealing if patterns are similar to those documented for plants and vertebrates. As part of the broader impacts, the research team will train a postdoctoral researcher and two female Ph.D. students, contributing to the advancement of scientific knowledge and promoting diversity in academia. Undergraduate students will be involved through summer internships and independent research, focusing on insect biodiversity in California. Additionally, a course on insect biodiversity and conservation, specifically focusing on plant bugs and the CA-FP, will be developed, and an existing course will be expanded to highlight California biodiversity. Additional training opportunities include a short course on true bug biodiversity and an International Miroid Workshop. The widely used Systematic Catalog of Plant Bugs will be updated and migrated to Taxon Works, ensuring access to accurate and up-to-date information.Despite both economic importance and diversity, the few current phylogenetic hypotheses of Miridae are taxon-poor, poorly resolved, and conflicting. This project has three major aims. The team will estimate the first robust phylogeny across the seven subfamilies and with subprojects focusing on the three largest subfamilies Mirinae, Orthotylinae, and Phylinae, infer evolutionary timelines, and investigate diet transitions. Though most plant bug species have small endemic ranges and phytophagous lineages typically contain species that feed on a single host plant species, some species’ repertoires comprise many plant families. These attributes of plant bugs will allow us to test hypotheses on host plant driven diversification and the biogeographic history of biota in the Nearctic and the CA-FP. Plant bugs are an excellent system to investigate patterns of phylogenetic diversity in the CA-FP, the only biodiversity hotspot that resides entirely within the continental United States: 31% of the ~700 described species of Miridae in California are endemic, most have been treated in taxonomic revisionary studies, and distribution ranges are well documented. We will contrast phylogenetic diversity patterns in Miridae – the first insect group to be studied in detail in the CA-FP – with those found in plants and vertebrates to put insects on the map for conservation recommendations.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.

该合作研究项目旨在研究种类繁多的植物昆虫的进化，植物昆虫家族包含超过 11,350 个已知物种，属于物种最丰富的 20 个昆虫家族之一，它们作为农作物害虫和有益的捕食者发挥着重要作用。通过之前的 NSF 资助计划，已经为 Miridae 编制了大规模的生物多样性数据集，但是，由于缺乏全面的系统发育假设，该数据集具有研究生物地理历史和宿主的潜力。研究小组将利用超保守元素（UCE）数据构建植物昆虫的系统发育学，这将能够重建强大的部落和亚部落级别的关系，同时研究该项目的时间和饮食进化。还将研究北美西部特定植物昆虫群体的生物地理历史和宿主植物相互作用，这是植物昆虫多样性的热点之一。最后，该团队将研究生物多样性中植物昆虫的系统发育多样性。作为更广泛影响的一部分，研究小组将培训一名博士后研究员和两名女博士生，以揭示其模式是否与植物和脊椎动物的模式相似。本科生将通过暑期实习和独立研究参与科学知识的进步和促进学术界的多样性，特别是在加利福尼亚州的昆虫生物多样性和保护课程，重点是植物昆虫和 CA-FP，将被开发，并且现有的课程将得到扩展，以突出加州的生物多样性。额外的培训机会包括关于真正的昆虫生物多样性的短期课程和广泛使用的植物昆虫系统目录将被更新并迁移到 Taxon Works，以确保获得准确和可靠的信息。最新信息。尽管具有经济重要性和多样性，但目前少数的蝼蛄科系统发育假说是分类单元贫乏、解析不佳且相互冲突的。该团队将估计第一个稳健的目标。七个亚科的系统发育和子项目重点关注三个最大的亚科 Mirinae、Orthotylinae 和 Phylinae，推断进化时间线并研究饮食转变，尽管大多数植物昆虫物种的特有范围较小，而植食性谱系通常包含以单一食物为食的物种。寄主植物物种，一些物种的库包括许多植物科，植物昆虫的这些属性将使我们能够检验关于寄主植物驱动的多样化的假设。近北极生物群的生物地理历史和 CA-FP 植物昆虫是研究 CA-FP 系统发育多样性模式的绝佳系统，CA-FP 是唯一完全位于美国大陆的生物多样性热点：约占 31%。加州描述的 700 种蜉蝣科物种是当地特有的，其中大多数都经过了分类学修订研究，并且分布范围都有详细记录。我们将对比蝽科（第一个昆虫类群）的系统发育多样性模式。将在 CA-FP 中进行详细研究——在植物和脊椎动物中发现昆虫，以提出保护建议。该奖项是 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进行评估，被认为值得支持审查标准。