Project description
Predictive framework and tailored extraction protocol targeting sedimentary ancient DNA
Ancient DNA preserved in sediments offers a remarkable window into past ecosystems, migrations and evolutionary change – but recovery is costly and unreliable, with only a fraction of sampled sediments yielding usable genetic material. A key overlooked factor is the role of clay minerals in binding and preserving DNA. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CASANDRA project aims to investigate this using mineralogical, geochemical and geoarchaeological approaches. The findings will underpin a predictive framework for targeting DNA-rich samples alongside a tailored extraction protocol, cutting costs and improving efficiency. These advances will also deepen understanding of how ecosystems responded to past climate shifts, potentially improving responses to future ones.
Objective
Unlocking Earth’s history depends on a reliable interpretation of the remnants of the past that can withstand degradation. Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) offers a unique genetic archive of paleoorganisms enabling reconstruction of paleoenvironments, paleomigrations and evolutionary change. However, sedaDNA recovery is expensive and inefficient only a small fraction of sediments yield usable DNA, and current protocols overlook the mineral controls that govern its preservation. CASANDRA will transform this bottleneck by investigating how clay minerals, and particularly smectites, bind and preserve DNA in reworked cave sediments. By integrating mineralogic, geochemical and geoarchaeological approaches, CASANDRA will link sedaDNA adsorption to depositional histories, enabling us to predict where sedaDNA survives within the micromorphologic context of cave sediments. These insights will then inform the development of a new DNA extraction protocol, specifically tailored to the geochemical conditions of cave deposits. Field material from caves in Croatia, Spain and Greece will be analysed using state-of-the-art facilities at ISTerre Grenoble under the supervision of a leading expert in mineral–DNA interactions, in close collaboration with evolutionary anthropologists in Vienna to ensure contextual accuracy and cross-disciplinary uptake. The project will deliver: a) a predictive framework to target sedaDNA-rich samples based on mineralogy and site depositional history, reducing costly trial and error sampling, and b) a tailored extraction protocol optimised for clay-bound DNA, delivering higher yields and cleaner libraries for sequencing. These innovations will cut costs, increase efficiency, and expand the reach of sedaDNA studies. Beyond methodological advances, CASANDRA will contribute to a deeper understanding into ecosystem responses to past climate shifts enhancing our ability to anticipate future shifts in a rapidly changing environment.
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-2025-PF
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75794 PARIS
France
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