Project description
Tracing wild equid evolution through morphological and molecular data
The evolutionary history of wild equids, such as zebras, remains puzzling, despite advances in genetic research. While much is known about domesticated horses and their relatives, the origins and evolution of wild zebras and asses remain unclear. Backed by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the STRIPES project will combine fossil studies with cutting-edge genomic and morphometric analyses. Using fossil collections from Europe and Africa, researchers will apply 2D and 3D imaging to detail the anatomy of ancient and modern Equus species. Integrating these data with molecular evidence will produce the most comprehensive evolutionary tree of the genus Equus yet. The project’s findings are expected to deepen understanding of these iconic species and aid conservation efforts for threatened wild equids.
Objective
The evolutionary history of the genus Equus is a paradigmatic case of adaptation to different environments through time. Modern equids may be divided in two large groups based on genomic and morphologic evidence: the caballine horses (Przewalski’s and domesticated horses) and the stenonian wild equids (zebras and asses). Although molecular studies have clarified the evolutionary history of the caballine horses, the origin and evolution of the wild zebras and asses remains enigmatic, despite their well deciphered genomes. STRIPES aims to resolve the phylogeny of the genus Equus, with emphasis on extant zebras as well as African and Asian asses. To do so, I plan to study the fossil horses collections housed at the ICP (Sabadell, Spain), of the the MNHN (Paris, France) and of the NHMUK (London, England). These institutions have important collections from key sites in Eurasia and Africa, with ages matching with the estimated divergence time interval between zebras and asses at ca. 1.8 Ma. I will use 2D and 3D geometric morphometric approaches to more accurately characterize the anatomy of the fossil and living Equus species, and I will further integrate morphological information with genomic (paleoproteomic and molecular) data to perform the first Bayesian total evidence (tip dating) phylogenetic analysis of the genus Equus, which will enable to refine the branching topology and estimated divergence dates of its main lineages. The combination of paleontological and neontologial data, both morphological and molecular, represents a transverse approach of this study between Paleontology, Zoology, and Molecular Biology. The results of this project will yield the most complete phylogeny of the genus Equus thus far, pushing forward the current state-of-the-art and clarifying the evolution and origin of the living zebras and asses. Moreover, this project will also provide important information for the Conservation (Paleo)biology of these threatened and endangered wild animals.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics topology
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences palaeontology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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08201 Barcelona
Spain
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