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

美国自然历史博物馆(AMNH)被授予一个专门的实验室，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、通常保存得很差的组织提供了一个宝库，其中包含了以前无法获取的关于地球生命历史的分子信息。新的AMNH设施将是一个全国性的资源，为研究界提供一个超净的实验室，学生、早期职业科学家和知名科学家可以在最佳实践条件下对降解的生物材料进行监督提取。除物理实验室外，该奖项还将通过编写培训材料和举办专家与新手和有经验的实践者分享知识的研讨会，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。该项目将通过面向学生和教师的计划产生更广泛的教育影响，包括开放获取的教学资源，提高人们对古代DNA和蛋白质在现代科学中的作用的认识。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，如考古学、古生物学、古生态学、古气候学和物理人类学中尚未完全认识到。这在一定程度上是因为从大型化石或沉积物中提取的古代生物分子需要特殊处理：它们往往高度降解，很容易被现代生物分子污染。在美国，只有少数几个实验室能够达到标本制备的最高标准，而且目前使用这些设施的机会有限。该项目将为全国各地对在他们的研究中利用古代生物分子信息感兴趣的研究人员提供统一水平的支持。AMNH古代生物分子设施旨在为参观者提供一个独特设计的洁净室和尖端仪器，用于生物分子提取和基因组和蛋白质组应用的质量评估。对古代DNA和蛋白质的现场提取和安全处理将极大地简化研究人员对最佳数据获取所需时间和精力的投资，避免漫长的许可过程，并加快向科学界传播结果。作为国家古代生物分子提取中心，AMNH设施还将作为生物分子研究的交流中心，为学生和其他从业人员提供培训，促进合作，开发新技术和标准，并促进古代生物分子作为研究工具的价值。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.