Projektbeschreibung
Welchen Einfluss haben Mikroben auf die Naturgeschichte?
Mikroben nehmen bei der Evolution und der Geschichte des Lebens auf der Erde sowie der Entstehung unserer Arten eine entscheidende Rolle ein. Abgesehen von verschiedenen Pathogenen sind wir in stetigem Kontakt mit Mikroorganismen und werden sogar von unzähligen Mikroben besiedelt, die wichtig für unser allgemeines Wohlbefinden sind. Das EU-finanzierte Projekt PaleoMetAmerica wird die Rolle und den Einfluss der Mikroorganismen, die mit dem Menschen in Verbindung stehen, bei wichtigen historischen Ereignissen untersuchen, wobei der Fokus in erster Linie auf Nord- und Südamerika liegt. Es wird außerdem wichtige Erkenntnisse zur Entstehung, Entwicklung und Verbreitung dieser Mikroben liefern und herausfinden, wie sich ihre Interaktion mit dem Menschen im Laufe der Zeit verändert hat.
Ziel
Microbes have played fundamental roles throughout our evolution and history. These roles were not only played by pathogens, but also by the trillions of microorganisms inhabiting our body –the microbiome–, which are essential for homeostasis, physiology, and health. Recent advances in ancient DNA research have made possible to study infectious diseases and human microbiomes from ancient human populations, but this field of research is still at its early stages. For instance, it remains largely unknown which were the microbes (including pathogens) that associated with humans in the past, how they have changed over time, geographic regions and historical events, and to which extent these changes shaped our history and fate. This project will combine state-of-the-art methodologies from phylogenomics, microbiome research, and ancient DNA to bring a new perspective to the study of the human past. This approach will be implemented to investigate major aspects of the history of the Americas, using the Southern Cone as a study-model. First, the microbes (including pathogens) and microbiomes associated with pre-contact Native American populations will be characterized. This reference dataset will be then used to evaluate the impact of the agricultural transition and the European colonization in the oral microbiomes and infectious diseases of these populations. Finally, ancient pathogen genomics will be used to reconstruct the epidemiological scenarios of well-documented post-colonial epidemics. From a technical point of view, this project will also contribute new methods and applications to the emerging field of paleometagenomics. Overall, this work will bring unprecedented evidence to long-lasting debates regarding the impact of the agricultural transition in health and the intercontinental exchange of microbes during the European colonization, add a temporal perspective to the study of human microbiomes and infectious diseases and provide a new framework to study our past.
Wissenschaftliches Gebiet
Programm/Programme
Thema/Themen
Finanzierungsplan
ERC-STG - Starting GrantGastgebende Einrichtung
75724 Paris
Frankreich