About the Project
Ancient proteins have been studied for over half a century, but it is only recent developments that have led to their widespread sequencing for use in species identification of prehistoric animal bone as well as the phylogenetic placement of extinct taxa. So far this research has focused on the use of collagen, the most abundant protein in bone. However, there are a range of additional non-collagenous proteins that appear to offer greater taxonomic resolution than collagen. This project will explore the limitations of protein sequences, predominantly in bone, but with potential to include a range of animal tissues, through analysis of growing genomic data available for comparison with morphological assessment. It will also evaluate molecular measures of decay to assist authentication in palaeoproteomics. Overall this research project aims to have significant implications for investigating the evolutionary biology of vertebrates through new developments in molecular palaeontology.
http://www.ical.manchester.ac.uk/
Funding Notes
This project is to be funded under the BBSRC Doctoral Training Programme. If you are interested in this project, please make direct contact with the Principal Supervisor to arrange to discuss the project further as soon as possible. You MUST also submit an online application form - full details on how to apply can be found on the BBSRC DTP website www.manchester.ac.uk/bbsrcdtpstudentships
Applications are invited from UK/EU nationals only. Applicants must have obtained, or be about to obtain, at least an upper second class honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.
References
Brown, S., Higham, T., Slon, V., Paabo, S., Meyer, M., Douka, K., Brock, F., Comeskey, D., Procopio, N., Shunkov, M., Derevianko, A. & Buckley, M (2015).Scientific Reports 6, 23559
Buckley, M., Farina, R. A., Lawless, C., Tambusso, P. S., Varela, L., Carlini, A. A., Powell, J. E. & Martinez, J. G. 2015 In : PLoS One. 10, 12, e0144793
Buckley, Michael. "Ancient collagen reveals evolutionary history of the endemic South American ‘ungulates’." Proc. R. Soc. B. Vol. 282. No. 1806. The Royal Society, 2015.
Buckley, M., and C. Wadsworth. "Proteome degradation in ancient bone: diagenesis and phylogenetic potential." Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 416 (2014): 69-79.
Sansom, R. S., Wills, M.A., Williams, T. 2017. Dental data perform relatively poorly in reconstructing mammal phylogenies: Morphological partitions evaluated with molecular benchmarks. Systematic Biology 66:813. Doi:10.1093/sysbio/syw116
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