Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/P019633/1
An introductory molecular phylogenetics course: molecular diagnostics for species identification and evolutionary analysis
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Dr S Williams, The Natural History Museum, Life Sciences
- Grant held at:
- The Natural History Museum, Life Sciences
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Earth
- Freshwater
- Marine
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Earth
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Biodiversity
- Earth & environmental
- Conservation Ecology
- Species diversity
- Systematics & Taxonomy
- Bioinformatics Taxonomy
- Bioinformatics
- Abstract:
- This one-week introductory-level course will teach participants the steps involved to produce molecular phylogenies from raw Sanger and next-generation sequence data (Illumina paired-end). A phylogeny is essential for defining species boundaries, species identifications, recognition of cryptic species, testing systematic hypotheses, identifying evolutionary and biogeographic patterns and understanding the evolution of traits. As such, knowing how to produce a robust tree is an indispensible tool for modern taxonomists, systematists and evolutionary biologists. By the time the participants have completed the course, they will have had theoretical and practical training on how to i) edit raw Sanger sequence data, ii) carry out multiple sequence alignments, iii) choose appropriate models of sequence evolution, iv) carry out phylogenetic analyses (including Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood), v) interpret tree topology and nodal support, vi) upload sequences to GenBank, and vii) assemble and annotate next-generation sequence data. This course assumes no prior experience with DNA sequence data. Lectures will be given to provide theoretical background prior to any practical applications. Each step, involving specific software, will be demonstrated and practiced in hands-on computer lab sessions. During computer lab sessions, we aim to have three tutors to be present to ensure a high level of assistance for the 12 participants. On the last day, participants will be able to analyse their own data or return to sections of the course of their own choice. We will provide datasets that will result in clean, quick analyses, but also provide more challenging datasets to introduce participants to solutions to some of the most common problems encountered with molecular systematics, such as contamination, pseudogenes, and artefactual results. We will also discuss the fallibility of databases and online repositories (GenBank) due to sequence errors, contamination and incorrect species identification. The Natural History Museum is the perfect place to hold such a course. The staff that will be involved are eminently qualified to undertake molecular systematic studies and work with a broad range of taxa and evolutionary questions. This course will leave the participants feeling empowered and capable of tackling independent analyses of their own data.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/P019633/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Doctoral Training
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Advanced Training
This training grant award has a total value of £33,290
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Other Costs |
|---|
| £33,290 |
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