Description du projet
Évolution des principales biomolécules animales
Les biomolécules anciennes fournissent des informations sur les relations phylogénétiques et les processus de changements évolutifs. Cependant, la recherche est encore fortement axée sur les os et omet souvent d’examiner l’impact des processus de fossilisation. Le projet Palaeochem, financé par l’UE, caractérisera de minces films de carbone préservant les tissus mous d’animaux fossiles afin d’étudier les biomolécules anciennes. Le projet procèdera à une analyse chimique de différents fossiles dans le cadre d’un programme rigoureux d’expériences de fossilisation simulant la décomposition et l’enfouissement. L’objectif est de générer les premiers modèles complets de préservation des biomolécules de la kératine, de la mélanine et du collagène dans les tissus mous fossiles des temps anciens. Palaeochem analysera les archives fossiles de ces biomolécules, les mécanismes chimiques responsables de leur préservation et tiendra compte des biais taphonomiques dans les modèles évolutifs.
Objectif
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.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitution d’accueil
T12 YN60 Cork
Irlande