重建自然界生物类群的进化关系，追溯其起源和进化历程是进化生物学领域十分重要的研究内容，并日益受到广泛的关注。本研究瞄准“生命之树”这一国际重要研究计划，选取了团队已有研究基础的蛙科（两栖类，无尾目）物种开展工作。有关蛙科物种类群的系统发育研究，前期在不同团队的努力下，已取得了阶段性进展，然而由于以往研究主要（1）基于有限的基因片段（2）受限于某地理区域，至今尚缺乏较为完整，可靠的系统进化树。基于此，本研究收集了分布于亚、欧、美、澳、非等各大洲，覆盖蛙科23个属，代表各属内主要种组或进化支系的180个蛙科物种和3个外群，采用基于基因探针杂交富集的高通量测序技术，通过批量获取代表物种的300-500个直系同源基因，构建蛙科系统进化树，主要解决23个属间、以及属内主要进化支系间的系统关系。在此基础上，探究蛙科物种的起源、演化历史，迁移路线及区域物种分化格局。为蛙科分类争议问题提供系统发育证据。

The tree of life, or the evolutionary relationships of different species, has fascinated by evolutionary biologists for decades. It is the basis of testing hypotheses involving macroevolutionary questions. Our project focuses on resolving the phylogenetic relationships within the Ranidae, a large anuran group of nearly cosmopolitan distribution. These frogs are widely used as model organisms in studies of behavior, development, genetics, physiology, ecology, evolution and many other disciplines. Although reconstruction of this phylogeny has progressed tremendously during the last decade, relationships among the genera remain largely unstable and many genera (or species groups) are not demonstrably monophyletic. The evolutionary history within this family is one of the greatest challenges in herpetological systematics. Our proposed study will use an unprecedented scale of data: 300–500 loci from each of 180 species representing all major lineages within the Ranidae, and three outgroup taxa. We will use anchored hybrid enrichment method to obtain nucleotide sequence data via next-generation DNA sequencing. By analyzing hundreds of loci, we will construct the best-resolved hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships to date, including the relationships among at least 23 genera and major lineages within each genus. Further, we will obtain a time-calibrated phylogeny and reconstructed ancestral range of the ranids. These results will identify the drivers of the group’s historical diversification and global biogeography, and provide implication for taxonomy.