Descripción del proyecto
La evolución de biomoléculas animales fundamentales
Las biomoléculas antiguas aportan información sobre las relaciones y los procesos filogenéticos de los cambios evolutivos. Sin embargo, las investigaciones siguen presentando un fuerte sesgo favorable a los huesos y, a menudo, omiten el impacto de los procesos de fosilización. El proyecto Palaeochem, financiado con fondos europeos, caracterizará películas finas de carbono que conservan los tejidos blandos de animales fósiles para estudiar biomoléculas antiguas. El proyecto se centrará en el análisis químico de distintos fósiles en el marco de un programa riguroso de experimentos de fosilización que simulan su descomposición y entierro. El objetivo es generar los primeros modelos exhaustivos de preservación de las biomoléculas queratina, melanina y colágeno en tejidos blandos fósiles a través del tiempo. Palaeochem analizará el registro fósil de estas biomoléculas y los mecanismos químicos responsables de su conservación y tendrá en cuenta los sesgos tafonómicos de los modelos evolutivos.
Objetivo
What are the limits of the fossil record? Ancient biomolecules are critically important given their potential to inform on phylogenetic relationships and the processes driving evolutionary change. Research to date, however, lacks cohesion and breadth, is strongly biased towards bone, and often fails to consider the impact of analytical bias and fossilization processes. This proposal sets a new, focussed agenda for the study of ancient biomolecules based on the characterization of thin carbon films preserving the soft tissues of fossil animals. Targeted chemical analysis of diverse fossils including frontier high-resolution mapping will be informed by a rigorous programme of fossilisation experiments simulating decay and burial, thus generating the first holistic models for the preservation of the evolutionarily important biomolecules keratin, melanin, and collagen in fossil soft tissues through deep time. The research will resolve the fossil record of these key biomolecules, the chemical mechanisms responsible for their preservation, and will accommodate taphonomic biases in evolutionary models. This enhanced picture of animal molecular evolution will test hypotheses linking biomolecular innovation with fundamental phenotypic, phylogenetic and ecological transitions, especially relating to the evolution of the tetrapod integument and the origins of animals. The research will launch twin experimental facilities for simulating burial that will allow extraction, and in-situ analysis, of reaction products in real time. These facilities will be unique in Europe, consolidating the PI’s team as a keystone global hub for research into ancient biomolecules. The research team comprises the PI, three postdoctoral researchers, and two PhD students, and will dovetail with a global collaborative network. The project will have significance for diverse scientists and will inspire the next generation to explore the wonders of science.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitución de acogida
T12 YN60 Cork
Irlanda