Location: Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research
Project Number: 2080-21000-019-037-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Oct 1, 2021
End Date: Aug 31, 2025
Objective:
We propose to assemble a comprehensive phylogenomic data set for bees that incorporates all major lineages across the globe. The resulting phylogeny will provide a robust framework for addressing questions about bee biogeography and trait evolution, and will facilitate the establishment of a stable higher-level classification of bees.
Approach:
We will sequence (a) the majority of the 483+ known bee genera for low coverage genomes, providing a robust backbone, and (b) sequence ultraconserved elements (UCEs) for up to 3,000 additional bee specimens, aiming to cover the geographic and morphological diversity of all bee genera and subgenera around the world. We will employ a diverse set of analytical methods to infer the phylogeny of bees and will generate a database of bee host-plant associations and other traits to examine the evolution of these traits within bees.
