Characterisation of eggshell proteomes from the extinct Madagascar elephant bird
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
INSTRUMENT(S): Q Exactive HF
ORGANISM(S): Mullerornis Aepyornis Sp.
TISSUE(S): Eggshell
SUBMITTER: 
Beatrice Demarchi
LAB HEAD: Beatrice Demarchi
PROVIDER: PXD035725 | Pride | 2023-01-20
REPOSITORIES: Pride
Dataset's files
Items per page: 5 1 - 5 of 18 |
Similar Datasets
Project description:Here we show the potential of proteins preserved in Pleistocene eggshell for addressing a longstanding controversy in human and evolution: the identity of the extinct bird that laid the eggs which were exploited by Australia’s first inhabitants. The eggs had been originally attributed to the iconic extinct flightless Genyornis newtoni, and subsequently dated to before 50 ±5 ka by Miller et al. (2016). This was taken to represent the extinction date for this endemic megafaunal species and thus implied a role of humans in its demise. A contrasting hypothesis, according to which the eggshell was laid by a large megapode (mound-builder), would therefore acquit humans of their responsibility in the extinction of Genyornis. Ancient protein sequences were reconstructed and used to assess the evolutionary proximity of the undetermined eggshell to extant birds, rejecting the megapode hypothesis. Ancient DNA could not be retrieved from these highly degraded samples, but morphometric data supported the attribution of the eggshell to Genyornis. When used in triangulation to address well-defined hypotheses, palaeoproteomics is a precious tool for reconstructing the evolutionary history of extinct and extant species. Here we show that the identification of Genyornis eggshell implies a more nuanced understanding of the modes of interactions between humans and their environment.
2022-07-19 | PXD027713 | Pride
Project description:The evolutionary history of Rhinocerotidae has been the subject of significant debate among palaeontologists, with several paradigm shifts within the last quarter century, typically centered around a speculated deep-basal split between Rhinocerotinae and Elasmotheriinae. Here, we recover an endogenous ancient enamel proteome from an Early Miocene (20+Ma) old rhinocerotid from the Haughton Formation of Canada’s High Arctic. Ancient proteomes sufficient for phylogenetic analysis have not previously been recovered from beyond the Pliocene, making it difficult to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships and divergence times of fossil taxa that are beyond the reach of ancient DNA. Here, phylogenetic analysis of our proteomic data suggests the split between Elasmotheriinae and Rhinocerotinae occurred much later than previously speculated, in the late Eocene or Oligocene. The authenticity of ancient the ancient proteome is supported by a suite of post-translational modifications associated with advanced degradation, including a significant degree of arginine->ornithine conversion and high rates of advanced forms of tryptophan and histidine oxidation.
2025-07-06 | PXD052635 | Pride
Project description:This is a biomolecular study of the intra-crystalline organic fraction of Late Cretaceous (~80 Ma) sauropod eggshell, which was found to be enriched in endogenous fully racemic amino acids (Glx, Gly, Ala, and Val). However, LC-MS/MS failed to detect any peptide sequences that could be confidently considered endogenous.
2024-05-25 | PXD014712 | Pride
Project description:Contamination is a potential issue in palaeoproteomic studies of human evolution, as it may mask low-abundance endogenous proteins and introduce modern variation into the reconstructed ancient proteome. This contamination may stem from many sources, such as the burial environment, storage facilities, and subsequent handling. Here, we apply a bleach decontamination protocol to a Pleistocene hominin tooth from the archaeological site of Khudji, Tajikistan, which was found to be heavily contaminated with skin-derived proteins during initial analysis. Bleach treatment removed nearly all contaminating proteins from the dentine proteome, without damaging endogenous proteins. Finally, phylogenetic analysis of the reconstructed proteome showed that the tooth likely stems from a Neanderthal.
2025-04-24 | PXD050370 | Pride
Project description:Claims for exceptional preservation of biomolecules in the fossil record are contested. Here we demonstrate the role of surface stabilisation in significantly prolonging protein sequence survival to ~3.8 million years. The intracrystalline environment of calcite ostrich (Struthionidae) eggshell encapsulates uterine proteins and molecular dynamics simulations of struthiocalcin-1 & -2, the dominant proteins within the eggshell, reveal that they bind to the mineral surface in distinct domains. By ~3.8 million years the struthiocalcin-1 domain with the lowest calculated binding energy is selectively preserved in eggshell samples from equatorial Africa. Sequence survival is explained by entropy loss of the peptide and water, lowering the effective temperature of the local environment at the peptide mineral interface.
2018-07-16 | PXD003786 | Pride
Project description:Palaeoproteomics of skeletal tissues has the potential to provide new insights into the evolutionary relationships between globally distributed hominin fossils across the Pleistocene. The use of alternative or additional proteases has the potential to increase both proteome size and protein. However, the potential of alternative proteases beside trypsin remains unexplored systematically in palaeoproteomic studies. Here, we present a comparison of the bone proteome size and protein sequence recovery of six different proteases from four Pleistocene bone specimens. We observe that the majority of the preserved bone proteome is inaccessible to trypsin. We also note that for proteins recovered consistently across several proteases, protein sequence coverage can be increased significantly by combining peptide identifications from two or more proteases. Our results thereby demonstrate that the proteolysis of Pleistocene proteomes by several proteases has clear advantages when addressing evolutionary questions in palaeoproteomics.
2020-10-13 | PXD018264 | Pride
Project description:Pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) is the most common pediatric brain tumor and driven by aberrant MAPK signaling, typically mediated by BRAF alterations. While five-year overall survival rates exceed 95%, tumor recurrence constitutes a major clinical challenge in incompletely resected tumors despite chemotherapeutic or radiation based therapies. Therefore, we used proteogenomics to discern the biological heterogeneity of PA to improve classification of this tumor entity and identify novel therapeutic targets. Our proteogenomics approach integrates RNA sequencing and LC/MS-based proteomic profiling data from a cohort of 58 confirmed, primary PA samples. An integrative genomics approach was conducted to discern the biological heterogeneity of PA and to identify aberrant pathway activation in these biological subgroups. In summary, Pilocytic astrocytomas segregate into two groups where younger patients are significantly associated with Group 1. Importantly, we validate the two distinct biological subgroups in two non-overlapping cohorts. The biological heterogeneity seen here may improve biological classification and reveal novel therapeutic targets specifically useful for non-resectable tumors with high risk of recurrent or progressive disease.
2023-10-24 | PXD035773 | Pride
Project description:Most knowledge on spider venoms concerns neurotoxins acting on ion channels, whereas proteins and their significance for the envenomation process are neglected. The comprehensive analysis presented here of the venom gland transcriptome and proteome of Cupiennius salei with a focus on proteins and cysteine-containing peptides offers new insight into the structure and function of spider venom, presented here as dual prey-inactivation strategy. After venom injection, many enzymes and proteins, dominated by α-amylase, angiotensin-converting enzyme, and cysteine-rich secretory proteins, interact with main metabolic pathways, leading to major disturbance of the cellular homeostasis. Hyaluronidase and cytolytic peptides destroy tissue and membranes, thus supporting the spread of other venom compounds. We detected 81 transcripts of neurotoxins from 13 peptide families, whereof two families comprise 93.7% of all cysteine-containing peptides. This raises the question of the importance of the other low-expressed peptide families. The identification of a venom gland-specific defensin-like peptide and an aga-toxin-like peptide in the hemocytes offers an important clue on the recruitment and neofunctionalization of body proteins and peptides as the origin of toxins.
2019-03-25 | PXD012881 | Pride
Project description:Palaeoproteomics analysis of mollusc shells (Modiolus modiolus, Ostrea edulis, Unio pictorum, Margaritifera margaritifera, Unio crassus, Pseudunio auricularius) and shell ornaments (double-buttons) from Neolithic European sites (Havnø, Hornstaad-Hörnle IA, Peştera Ungurească).
2019-05-08 | PXD011985 | Pride
Project description:Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is the most common malignant brain tumor in infants and is characterized by loss of nuclear SMARCB1 protein expression. Recent studies show that AT/RTs comprise three molecular subgroups with epigenetic differences, including distinct expression patterns of genes involved in ciliogenesis, but little is known on the functional role of primary cilia in the biology of AT/RT. Here, we show that primary cilia are present across all AT/RT subgroups with specific enrichment in AT/RT-TYR patient samples. Furthermore, we demonstrate that primary ciliogenesis contributes to AT/RT biology in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, we observed a significant decrease in proliferation and clonogenicity following disruption of primary ciliogenesis in AT/RT cell line models. Apoptosis was significantly increased via the induction of STAT1 and DR5 signaling, as detected by proteogenomic profiling. In a Drosophila model of SMARCB1 deficiency, concomitant knockdown of several cilia-associated genes resulted in a substantial shift of the lethal phenotype with more than 20% of flies reaching adulthood. Finally, we demonstrated significantly extended survival in an orthotopic xenograft mouse model of AT/RT upon disruption of primary ciliogenesis, confirming a survival benefit across different species with SMARCB1 deficiency. Altogether, our findings indicate that targeting primary ciliogenesis or its downstream signaling may constitute a novel therapeutic approach for AT/RT.
2022-10-14 | PXD027211 | Pride