Ecological extinction and evolution: answers from ancient biomolecules

Project Information

Evolution

Grant agreement ID: 885088

DOI

10.3030/885088

Project closed

EC signature date 14 April 2020

Start date 1 October 2020

End date 30 September 2022

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 203 852,16

EU contribution

€ 203 852,16

Coordinated by

NATURHISTORISKA RIKSMUSEET
Sweden

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Evolution (Ecological extinction and evolution: answers from ancient biomolecules)

Reporting period: 2020-10-01 to 2022-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Previous studies on extinct Pleistocene megafauna attempted to decipher species’ responses to environmental change through genetic studies and palaeodietary reconstruction. However, none of these studies addressed the issue of whether changes in palaeoecology represent evolutionary processes or are instead a result of environmentally induced plasticity. The present research project proposes novel ways of addressing the aforementioned question through an interdisciplinary approach including palaeogenomics, ancient epigenomics and palaeoecology. Modern genomes of Scandinavian brown bears have also been generated, which is of interest for the study of cave bear evolution, since brown bears carry a small percentage of cave bear DNA.
The produced dataset constitutes the most complete cave bear genome dataset ever analysed, allowing us to gain an unprecedented understanding of cave bear evolutionary history. Given that brown bears are sister species of cave bears, the brown bear dataset helps to understand to what extent the brown bear tracts in the cave bear’s genome have been adaptive. Specific conclusions will be drawn up that might be used as a basis for other palaeogenomic and palaeoenvironmental studies and also for extant relatives of the cave bear. Investigating the evolutionary implications leading to population differentiation during the extreme climate fluctuations of the Pleistocene provide insights into a species’ responses to environmental pressures with implications for the conservation and management of mammals.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

For cave bears, 10 cave bear ancient genomes have been generated to investigate population structure, gene flow and methylation patterns in individuals with different ecology.
For brown bears: 21 brown bear genomes have been generated, to assess temporal change in diversity and loss across time and the genetic consequences of recent bottleneck in Scandinavian brown bear.
Part of the results have been disseminated via two peer reviewed manuscripts that reached a high visibility within academia and on social platforms or via the outreach activity organised by the European Commission “Science is Wonderful!”, that took place online between 22 and 26 November 2021. During talks held for 25 classes and one talk Meet the scientist with about 100 attendants the topic of the project has been covered and the audience has been familiarised with cave bears and brown bears and why it's important to understand their evolutionary history.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The particular strength of this project lies in its interdisciplinarity. By including palaeogenomics, ancient epigenomics and palaeoecology this project has the potential to provide entirely new insights into the spatio-temporal dynamics of Late Pleistocene ecosystems, that goes beyond the current state-of-the-art. Combining cave bear and brown bear datasets will offer a comprehensive understanding of the environment’s role and impact on large mammal extinction. Moreover the results, including those related to the impact of shifting climate and bottlenecks on genetic diversity, will benefit wider society. These will be directly communicated to: 1) government, policy makers, conservation bodies in Romania and abroad and may be used in issuing future plan strategies on sustainable development and accessing structural funds for management of natural and cultural protected areas; 2) stakeholders and local communities that may use the results to promote and support local sustainable economic activity.

a day in the ancient DNA lab

cave bear skull at The Museum of Paleolithic Technology and Human Evolution, Târgoviște, Romania

sampling cave bear bones in caves