Descripción del proyecto
Variación genómica en los grandes simios
Para entender los procesos de la variación genómica, necesitamos determinar los genomas de las especies primitivas y seguir los cambios durante la evolución. El proyecto ApeGenomeDiversity, financiado con fondos europeos, se centra en la diversidad de los grandes simios y, con muestras antiguas, pretende obtener una visión directa de los genomas de las poblaciones extinguidas. La comparación con las muestras de los simios de hoy en día permitirá a sus científicos comprender los orígenes y la dinámica de las variantes genómicas y cómo contribuyen al panorama genómico de las especies vivas. Es más, el proyecto proporcionará una visión de la historia de nuestros antepasados más cercanos y el significado funcional de eventos específicos de introgresión en la evolución.
Objetivo
In our quest to fully understand the processes that shape the genomic variation of species, describing variation of the past is a fundamental objective. However, the origins and the extent of great ape variation, the genomic description of extinct primate species and the genomic footprints of introgression events all remain unknown. Even today, and in contraposition to human evolutionary biology, the almost null presence of ancient great ape samples has precluded a comprehensive exploration of such diversity.
Here, I present two approaches that will expose great ape diversity throughout time and will allow me to compare the genomic impact of introgression events across lineages. First, I would like to take advantage of ancient ape samples that will provide us with a direct view of the genomes of extinct populations. Second, I would like to exploit current and recent diversity to indirectly access the parts of extinct ape genomes that became hybridized with current species in the past. For the latter, we will analyse hundreds of non-invasive samples taken from present-day great apes as well as historical specimens. Altogether, this information will enable me to decipher novel genomes that until now have been lost in time. In this way, I will be able to properly understand the origins and dynamics of genomic variants and to study how admixture has contributed to today´s adaptive landscape.
By completing this proposal and performing analogies to the human lineage, fundamental insights will be revealed about (i) the spatial-temporal history of our closest species and (ii) the functional consequences of introgressed events. On top of that, these results will help to annotate functional consequences of novel mutations in the human genome. In so doing, a fundamental insight will be provided into the evolutionary history of these regions and into human mutations with multiple repercussions in the understanding of evolution and human biology.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitución de acogida
08002 Barcelona
España