Project traces 'tree of life'

PROVO — Welcome to biology class at Brigham Young University.

Today's mission, if you choose to accept it: deciphering the evolutionary history of all life on Earth.

Impossible? Not according to Jack Sites. The BYU professor is part of a team that recently earned a $2.4 million grant to tackle the origins of scaly reptiles such as lizards and snakes.

The research that Site's team collects will then be compared to findings from six other institutions, including Yale University. The group will then identify key marker genes in about 150 reptile species and analyze and compare DNA sequences.

"Assembling the Tree of Life" is a collaborative effort of a handful of institutions around the world to track the origins of evolution, a project spearheaded by the National Science Foundation.

"I'm always interested in tackling the big questions," said Sites, a reptile specialist. "The Tree of Life project is about as big as it gets in biology."

Starting in 2004, Sites' research team will examine nearly 7,000 species in a mission they like to call "Deep Scaly," for its in-depth look at reptiles.

Scientists are still puzzled about how snakes evolved from lizards.

Reptiles can do a circus-full of biological stunts, Sites said.

For example, some lizards can freeze as solid as a block of ice and survive, relying on a chemical "antifreeze" produced by their livers that keeps their hearts and brains barely functioning.

Also, 70 species of lizards reproduce asexually — meaning no males exist.

And large snakes go without food for six to 12 months, then crank up their digestive systems to process one meal that is 80 percent of their body weight.

"Reptiles give us a fascinating window into the capabilities of living things, stretching our understanding of what is possible," Sites said.

Students in Sites' integrative biology classes will help gather information for Deep Scaly.

Those interested in going into the biology field can network with top scientists in their field at annual meetings with the research team in Chicago.

Maureen Kearney, assistant curator at Chicago's Field Museum for Natural History, a member of the Tree of Life team, says Sites' "expertise in the molecular biology of lizards and snakes will bring outstanding depth to the genomic aspect of the research project."

By determining genetic relationships between species, conservation efforts will receive a needed boost. The research will also improve medicine, especially related to snakebites, a common cause of death in developing nations.

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com