assembling the tree of life diana lipscomb program director, systematic biology program national...
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Assembling the Tree of LifeDiana Lipscomb
Program Director, Systematic Biology ProgramNational Science Foundation
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Evolutionary theory provides:• Framework for storing and
explaining biological diversity.• Tool for predicting properties of
organisms
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Now is the Time to Assemble the Tree of Life
New data is becoming available with new imaging methods and Nucleic Acid Sequencing.
Theoretical and Computational methods are now available to tackleThe task of assembling large phylogenetic trees.
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Method of Analysis• Cladistics (e.g.
parsimony)– Evidence for relatedness
comes from characteristics of organisms.
– The most succinct (parsimonious) summary of the data is the best hypothesis of phylogeny.
– Hypotheses are tested by additional characters.
• Statistics (e.g., Maximum Likelihood)– Evidence for relatedness
comes from a model of how evolution works and characteristics of organisms.
– “how likely is this data given a tree and a model?”
– Models are tested by simulation and likelihood ratio tests.
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Core Programs in DEB
• Systematic Biology• Population Biology• Biodiversity Surveys and Inventories• Ecology • Ecosystem Studies• Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology • Long-Term Ecological Research
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NSF- Assembling the Tree of Life
(ATOL)
Phylogeny & predictive classification for life on earth
in 10-15 years
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The Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) Program
construct a universal Tree of Life for all 1.7 million named species of living organisms on earth
Deadline: April, 2004Program Announcement: NSF 03-536
capitalize on new computational and genomic technologies
encompass all microbes, fungi, protists, animals and plants
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Two Types of Proposals
• Taxon Based– Address complex
phylogenetic problems for a major taxon that have been resistant to solution using past approaches
– Tree-building method not specified
– Management plan
• Analytical or Phyloinformatics– Data analysis– Data acquisition– Data sharing– Data storage
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2002 AToL Awards: 7 Projects Funded
www.nsf.gov/bio/pubs/awards• Bacteria • Non-seed Plants• Fungi• Nematodes• Spiders and Scorpions• Birds• Dinosaurs