Paleogenetics

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We are developing a state-of-the-art facility, one of only a handful within Canada and North America, focused on the meticulous characterization of DNA and RNA from archival, forensic and fossil samples that span geologically significant time scales. This sequence data will be used to address a range of significant research themes including the evolution of pathogens particularly historically significant agents such as Black Death and HIV-1, that have altered the course of human history. We will use state of the art high throughput sequencing of DNA extracted from the arctic permafrost to map out bacterial, plant and animal communities across time, in the hope of understanding how climate change in the past effected their distribution and in turn aid us in thus developing a predictive model for monitoring impending change in a future warming Arctic. This has direct impact not only on the key animal and plant species currently living in the north, but the humans that depend upon them for their survival.