Riding to extinction: epigenomics of the Ice Age horses

ended

The EPIRIDE project will use a combination of novel experimental and computational techniques to explore the role of epigenetics in long-term adaptive strategies of large vertebrates in response to rapid climate change. Modern and ancient horse bone samples will be analysed for epigenetic markers using advanced high-throughput sequencing approaches, and the epigenomic landscapes will be contrasted over a 30,000-year record of major climatic and environmental shifts. EPIRIDE has strong potential to reveal key genomic regions for climate adaptation in large herbivores, with considerable implications for conservation genetics and livestock management.