Project description
Rethinking our earliest animal ancestors
What do sea stars, acorn worms, and humans have in common? For over a century, they have all been classified as deuterostomes (descendants of a common ancient ancestor). However, recent findings suggest this grouping might be wrong. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the DeuterostomeOrigin project is tackling the mystery by combining cutting-edge genomic analysis with detailed anatomical studies of exquisitely preserved 520-million-year-old fossils from China’s Chengjiang site. Focusing on three enigmatic fossil groups (myllokunmingids, yunnanozoans, and vetulicolians), the project uses advanced imaging tools to reconstruct their structure and evolutionary significance. The goal is to build a robust evolutionary tree that reshapes how we understand our place in the animal kingdom.
Objective
Deuterostomes are a major group of animals that include creatures as diverse as sea stars, acorn worms, and humans. Though seeming very different, these animals have long been grouped together taxonomically and the nature of their ancient ancestor has been greatly controversial. However, new research suggests that the deuterostome grouping might be false, leaving our understanding of their evolutionary relationships and evolutionary origins in complete disarray. I propose to resolve this controversy through joint analysis of genomic data and anatomical data from living animals and exceptionally preserved fossils from the Cambrian (520 million years old) that can directly inform on the nature of ancient deuterostomes. Realising the evolutionary significance of the fossils requires we resolve their phylogenetic affinity, which can only be achieved by elucidating their fine anatomy. My proposal focuses on three groups of Cambrian deuterostome fossils, myllokunmingids, yunnanozoans, and vetulicolians, from the Chengjiang UNESCO World Heritage fossil site, which I will integrate into a holistic synthetic family tree of deuterostomes to understand how their anatomical and physiological features evolved over time. For this, I will employ multiple state-of-the-art technologies to reveal the high-resolution histological information of the fossils, including spectrometry, electron microscopy, and computed tomography. The latest methods for phylogenetic analysis and ancestral state estimation will be used to construct the evolutionary tree and infer character evolution. Together, these work packages will allow me to resolve debates on the evolutionary relationships of deuterostomes and the evolution of their disparate bodyplans. The training will help me make the transition from a fossil-focusing palaeontologist, to an independent interdisciplinary palaeobiologist comfortable with the joint analysis of living and fossil species based on the anatomical and genomic data.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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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.
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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)
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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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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.
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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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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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BS8 1QU BRISTOL
United Kingdom
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