DENTALkeys · Evolution of human tooth enamel: unlocking hidden cell mechanisms
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-02-07 → 2024-06-14
- EU contribution
- €224,934
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Evolution of human tooth enamel: unlocking hidden cell mechanisms
The DENTALkeys project addressed questions about the evolution human dental enamel and where humans fit in the evolution of our fossil ancestors from the genus Homo. Understanding the ways in which we relate to our fossil ancestors is fundamental to elucidating how modern humans evolved. Yet, after a century of investigations, there is still no consensus about relationships among some members of the genus Homo. Studies of enamel thickness have been at the centre of these debates. Teeth preserve well in the fossil record and enamel thickness is a trait that can contribute to taxonomic classification. Yet, we know very little about the cell mechanisms that generate variation in enamel thickness. Several of our fossil ancestors have enamel that is of similar thickness, though it formed with very different underlying developmental processes. The goal in this interdisciplinary project is to identify links between enamel growth and thickness to reveal novel traits in our fossil ancestors that will contribute new classification knowledge to our understanding of human evolution. I used modern dental samples and fossil samples spanning the past 18 million years, but focused on modern humans and fossils from the genus Homo dating to the last 2 million years. I was able to re-examine existing debates about which fossils are, or are not, ‘human-like’ to provide novel insights into their classification. I was also able to make significant headway regarding how the cells that create enamel (ameloblasts) move and secrete enamel during childhood.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Understanding the ways in which we relate to our fossil ancestors is fundamental to elucidating how modern humans evolved. Yet, after a century of investigations, there is still no consensus about relationships among some members of the genus Homo. Studies of enamel thickness have been at the centre of these debates. Teeth preserve well in the fossil record and enamel thickness is a trait that can contribute to taxonomic classification. Yet, we know very little about the cell mechanisms that generate variation in enamel thickness. Several of our fossil ancestors have enamel that is of similar thickness, though it formed with very different underlying developmental processes. The goal in this interdisciplinary project is to combine 3D and 2D microtomography, histology, and theoretical biology to identify links between enamel growth and thickness to reveal novel traits in our fossil ancestors that will contribute new classification knowledge to our understanding of human evolution. I will examine modern day samples and fossil samples spanning the past 2 million years from the genus Homo. I will use the knowledge I gain to re-examine existing debates about which fossils are, or are not, human-like to provide novel insights into their classification. Results will be of interest to anthropologists, human biologists, archaeologists, as well as the general public. My project will provide novel information about human growth and development that will also be of interest to clinicians.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITY OF KENT · Canterbury, KentCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union