CASANDRA · Cave sedimentary ancient DNA preservation – towards tailored extraction protocols

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Цел на проекта

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.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

• CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS · ParisКоординаторФранция
• UNIVERSITAT WIEN · WienАвстрия

Връзки

• Виж в CORDIS
• DOI: 10.3030/101279528