ICBR: Establishment of an Ancient DNA and Paleoproteomics Laboratory at the American Museum of Natural History

ICBR：在美国自然历史博物馆建立古代 DNA 和古蛋白质组学实验室

• 批准号: 2015389
• 负责人: Cheryl Hayashi
• 金额: $ 47.24万
• 依托单位: American Museum Natural History
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-01-15 至 2024-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2015389&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ICBR; Establishment; Ancient; DNA; Paleoproteomics

An award is made to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to establish a dedicated laboratory for the isolation of ancient DNA and proteins preserved in biological tissues and environmental samples. Ancient, often poorly preserved, tissues provide a treasure trove of previously inaccessible molecular information on the history of life on Earth. The new AMNH facility will be a national resource, providing the research community with an ultraclean lab in which students, early career scientists, and established scientists can undertake supervised extraction of degraded biological materials under best-practices conditions. In addition to the physical laboratory, this award will support activities to strengthen national expertise in ancient biomolecular research through the production of training materials and a symposium in which experts share their knowledge with novice and experienced practitioners. This project will have broader educational impact through programs for students and teachers, including open-access teaching resources that increase awareness regarding the utility of ancient DNA and proteins in modern science. Recent advances in DNA sequencing, proteomics, and bioinformatics have enabled extraordinary advances in understanding the history of life and its diversity on Earth. Yet the full impact of these tools has not been fully realized in historical biology and related disciplines, such as archaeology, paleontology, paleoecology, paleoclimatology, and physical anthropology. This is partly because ancient biomolecules, recovered from macrofossils or sediments, require specialized treatment: they tend to be highly degraded and easily contaminated by modern biomolecules. Only a handful of labs in the USA are capable of meeting the highest standards of specimen preparation, and access to these facilities is currently limited. This project will bring a uniform level of support to researchers from across the country who are interested in utilizing ancient biomolecular information in their investigations. The AMNH Ancient Biomolecules Facility is intended to make available to visitors a uniquely designed clean room and cutting-edge instrumentation for biomolecular extraction and quality assessment for genomic and proteomic applications. On-site extraction and safe handling of ancient DNA and proteins will greatly simplify researchers’ investment in the time and effort needed for optimal data acquisition, circumvent lengthy permitting processes, and expedite the dissemination of results to the scientific community. Serving as a national center for ancient biomolecular extractions, the AMNH facility will also act as a clearing house for biomolecular studies, providing training to students and other practitioners, fostering collaborations, developing new techniques and standards, and promoting the value of ancient biomolecules as an investigatory tool.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

美国自然历史博物馆（AMNH）获得一项奖励，以建立一个专门的实验室，用于分离保存在生物组织和环境样本中的古代DNA和蛋白质。古老的，通常保存不好的，组织提供了一个宝库，以前无法访问的分子信息的历史上地球上的生命。新的AMNH设施将是一个国家资源，为研究界提供一个超净实验室，学生，早期职业科学家和成熟的科学家可以在最佳实践条件下进行降解生物材料的监督提取。除了物理实验室外，该奖项还将通过制作培训材料和举办专题讨论会，支持加强国家在古代生物分子研究方面的专门知识的活动，专家们将在研讨会上与新手和有经验的从业人员分享他们的知识。该项目将通过面向学生和教师的项目产生更广泛的教育影响，包括开放获取的教学资源，以提高人们对古代DNA和蛋白质在现代科学中的效用的认识。DNA测序、蛋白质组学和生物信息学的最新进展使人们在理解地球上生命的历史及其多样性方面取得了非凡的进步。然而，这些工具的全部影响在历史生物学和相关学科中还没有完全实现，如考古学，古生物学，古生态学，古气候学和体质人类学。这部分是因为从宏体化石或沉积物中回收的古代生物分子需要专门的处理：它们往往高度降解，容易被现代生物分子污染。在美国，只有少数实验室能够满足最高标准的标本制备，并且目前对这些设施的访问是有限的。该项目将为来自全国各地的研究人员提供统一的支持，这些研究人员有兴趣在他们的研究中利用古老的生物分子信息。AMNH古代生物分子设施旨在为游客提供一个独特设计的洁净室和尖端仪器，用于基因组和蛋白质组学应用的生物分子提取和质量评估。现场提取和安全处理古代DNA和蛋白质将大大简化研究人员为获得最佳数据所需的时间和精力，避免冗长的许可程序，并加快向科学界传播成果。作为一个古老的生物分子提取的国家中心，AMNH设施也将作为生物分子研究的信息交换所，为学生和其他从业者提供培训，促进合作，开发新的技术和标准，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。