Pontus Skoglund, Group Leader of the Ancient Genomics Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute, has been awarded a €2m Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) to study dog origins over five years.
The CERBEROS project will research the evolution of dogs from their ancestor the grey wolf, and how dogs interacted with changing human societies over the past 100,000 years. This work will build on previous research from the lab, showing that the ancestry of dogs can be traced back to two separate wolf populations, and that there were multiple types of dogs more than 11,000 years ago.
The team will explore how wolves evolved from the last Ice Age 100,000 years ago, comparing how important single mutations were for the evolution to dogs, and how major climate changes played a role.
The lab’s previous work has shown that dogs have two wolf ancestors, but the origins of these ancestors are unknown. The team will aim to locate the societies where the dog-human bond first formed, and understand what differences between dogs and wolves were crucial to domestication.
By analysing ancient DNA, Pontus’ team will infer which genes were targeted by natural selection over the past 10,000 years – the geographical period known as the Holocene - and how dogs adapted to human societies which were constantly changing. The researchers will also scan for ancient pathogen DNA, which could shed light on how infections may have transferred between dogs and humans.
Pontus Skoglund, Group Leader of the Ancient Genomics Laboratory at the Crick, said: “Our project will aim to provide new insight into genome evolution over time, spanning changing societies and climates over 100,000 years, as we have started to live more and more closely with dogs. Understanding the evolutionary pressures on our companions can shed light on how human societies adapted and confronted challenges.”
Pontus is one of 308 successful researchers from 2,130 candidates to receive funding from a €627 million pot, allocated as part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme. Until January 2024, ERC grants like this will be honoured by the UK’s public research funder, the UKRI.
Paul Nurse, Director of the Crick, said: “A huge congratulations to Pontus for receiving this competitive funding for a fascinating project. Rejoining Horizon Europe will open doors to so many ambitious research projects like this in the UK, as well as strengthening our international ties and fuelling progress through collaboration.”
