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NEFU won RUB 10 million grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research

  • 09 April 2021
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NEFU won RUB 10 million grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research

Scientists at North-Eastern Federal University will study the evolution of Pleistocene small mammals based on the unique discoveries of rodents and hares found in the permafrost of Yakutia's Arctic regions. For this purpose, the methods of modern genomics, bioinformatics and recently developed and modified methods of DNA extraction from museum material will be used.

As part of the study, the team of the ICUC “Molecular Paleontology” and NEFU Mammoth Museum will determine the taxonomic status and description of the paleoenvironment based on the study of ancient DNA from the unique discoveries of rodents and hares found in the permafrost. “Our project is intended to make a significant contribution to the study of one of the central problems in the study of the Pleistocene mammoth fauna - the problem of the origin of small mammals. This task is interesting and has a great social significance, since the research is aimed at studying the ancient paleoenvironment of the Arctic, its reconstruction and the problem of species extinction in ancient times,” explains leading researcher Lena Grigorieva.

As a result of the project, scientists from the ICUC “Molecular Paleontology” will reconstruct the habitats of mammoth fauna animals from different time periods based on the study of small mammals, which can be used to predict changes in landscapes and climate in the cryolithozone. “The work is divided into two directions. The project is dedicated to the genomics of hares and rodent representatives of the late Pleistocene - early Holocene epoch and aims to study the genetic characteristics of small mammals of these epochs and to predict the population future of animals using modern DNA sequencing methods,” said Lena Grigorieva.

The main direction of the research is to study the taxonomy, demography and genetic structure of populations of some hares and rodents that lived in Siberia in the late Pleistocene. For this purpose, the ICUC staff uses the methods of deep sequencing of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA.

The project "Evolution of Rodents and Hares of Northeastern Eurasia in the Pleistocene - Holocene: PaleoDNA Analysis of Unique Permafrost Discoveries" (Application No. 20-29-01021) became one of the winners of the competition for the best basic research projects on the topic "Ancient DNA in Complex Research of Eurasian History, Paleoenvironment and Social Infections”. The research won a grant of RUB 5 million annually and is designed to last two years.

Reference:

The full list of winners is available on the RFBR website (in Russian).

Author: Anna BAISAKOVA, NEFU Newsroom

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