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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the NSF "Assembling the Tree of Life" grant opportunity?

NSF "Assembling the Tree of Life" (Funding Opportunity Number 09-522) is a research grant program focused on building a much more complete, large-scale evolutionary framework for life on Earth. It supports efforts to infer and integrate major branches of the Tree of Life and to create broadly usable data, methods, and tools that strengthen evolutionary and comparative research.

What is the main goal of this program?

The program aims to assemble a framework phylogeny (the Tree of Life) that spans the roughly 1.7 million described species, creating a unifying evolutionary "map" that helps scientists organize biological knowledge, compare organisms, generate predictions, and test broad evolutionary hypotheses.

Why is NSF emphasizing the need for a unifying evolutionary framework now?

The opportunity description highlights a rapid expansion of data sources such as whole-genome sequences, fine-grained molecular and structural information, and expanded global biodiversity inventories. It also notes that lateral (horizontal) gene transfer can complicate evolutionary histories. With so many growing and sometimes conflicting data streams, a robust phylogenetic framework is described as increasingly urgent for making the information coherent and broadly useful.

What types of scientific evidence can be included in projects?

The program description points to both new and traditional lines of evidence. Examples mentioned include whole-genome data and other molecular datasets, structural and molecular information, biodiversity inventories, and recognition of lateral gene transfer. It also emphasizes continued value from morphology, fossils, development, behavior, and ecological interactions as important context for evolutionary history.

What kinds of projects is NSF looking for under this solicitation?

NSF describes interest in creative and innovative projects that resolve evolutionary relationships for large groups across the full history of life. The emphasis is on substantially scaled-up efforts that can tackle major branches and deep evolutionary relationships across broad groups of organisms, rather than only incremental work on small clades.

How is this solicitation different from traditional phylogenetic research projects?

The opportunity notes that much phylogenetic work has historically been conducted by single investigators or small teams working on narrower taxonomic groups. While that work is described as valuable, the solicitation is intended to support larger, more integrated efforts, commonly involving cross-institutional and interdisciplinary teams, to make progress at a scale needed for a comprehensive Tree of Life framework.

Does the program support computational and informatics work, or only organismal phylogeny building?

Yes. The solicitation explicitly supports enabling research in computational phylogenetics and phyloinformatics. The intent includes not only inferring evolutionary trees, but also strengthening the computational and informatics infrastructure needed to handle large, heterogeneous datasets and to make outputs broadly usable.

What kinds of computational or phyloinformatics activities are supported?

The program description includes support for data acquisition (such as generating or aggregating molecular, genomic, morphological, or other comparative datasets), data analysis approaches, algorithm development, and dissemination of tools, methods, and resources to the wider research community.

Is lateral (horizontal) gene transfer considered within the scope of this program?

Yes. The opportunity narrative specifically notes increasing recognition that lateral (horizontal) gene transfer can complicate evolutionary histories, and it frames the Tree of Life effort as needing to account for complexities introduced by such processes alongside other evidence.

What NSF funding categories or disciplines are associated with this opportunity?

The solicitation is described as interdisciplinary and associated with multiple NSF CFDA numbers spanning Biological Sciences (47.074), Geosciences (47.050), and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (47.070). This reflects the program's combination of biological discovery, fossil and earth-history context, and advanced computation.

How many awards and how much total funding were anticipated?

The solicitation anticipated about six awards with an estimated total funding level of $12,000,000.

Was cost sharing or matching required?

No. The opportunity states that cost sharing or matching was not required.

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was listed as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional clarifications in the full solicitation text.

What is the program type and federal category for this opportunity?

It is described as a discretionary NSF grant program in the science and technology research and development category.

What are the key dates listed for this opportunity?

The archived announcement lists a posted date of December 22, 2008, and a full proposal deadline of March 23, 2009. An archive date is recorded as March 5, 2010.

What is the funding opportunity number?

The funding opportunity number is 09-522.

What kinds of project outcomes does NSF appear to value for this program?

Based on the description, NSF is seeking outcomes that materially advance a large-scale evolutionary backbone for life on Earth and also produce or disseminate datasets, analytical methods, algorithms, and sharable computational resources that make the resulting framework robust, testable, and broadly useful across the biological sciences.

Is the program focused on small, incremental clade-level studies?

The description indicates the program is not primarily aimed at incremental work on small clades alone. Instead, it emphasizes ambitious efforts that address major branches of the Tree of Life and deep evolutionary relationships across broad organismal groups.

Does the program encourage collaboration across institutions and disciplines?

Yes. The solicitation narrative emphasizes substantially scaled-up efforts and commonly larger, cross-institutional and interdisciplinary teams as a practical approach to tackling large portions of the Tree of Life and addressing complex, deep evolutionary questions.