Molecular-Based Phylogeny of Ancient Hominoids
ESR1 Johanna Krueger
My fascination for information that is stored in biomolecules was the main reason that lead me to the study of Life Sciences in Potsdam in 2012. Since then, my fascination has only grown, especially through working in (Epi-)Genetics and Evolutionary Genomics projects. Throughout my studies, my focus has become more “paleo” and “meta”. In both, my BSc and my MSc theses, I examined ancient DNA from Eastern African sediment samples aiming to reconstruct past environmental conditions by applying metagenomic approaches. The work with extremely degraded DNA has raised my interest in Paleoproteomics as an innovative method to access genetic information of organisms that have lived a long time ago.
My PhD project aims to decipher the evolutionary history of hominoids during the Miocene in Southern Europe by extracting and sequencing polypeptides from the fossil record. It can hopefully shed light on the phylogenetic position of the last common ancestors shared by gibbons and great apes (Pliobates) as well as that of pongines and hominins (Pierolapithecus and Hispanopithecus).
My PhD Project
Extensive samplings and excavations during many decades in the Vallès-Penedès Basin (NE Spain) have led to a vast collection of fossil vertebrate remains, including Miocene hominoid remains, now curated at the Museum of the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont in Sabadell (Partner: ICP).
Most noteworthy are the partial skeletons of the fossil apes: Pierolapithecus catalaunicus (12.0 Ma), Hispanopithecus laietanus (9.6 Ma), and Pliobates cataloniae (11.6 Ma). Pierolapithecus and Hispanopithecus, included in the extinct subfamily Dryopithecinae, are generally interpreted as stem great apes preceding the divergence between pongines (orangutans) and hominins (African apes and humans). However, uncertainties persist regarding their phylogenetic status, with some researchers advocating instead for closer phylogenetic relationship with either hominins or pongines.
In turn, Pliobates has been interpreted as a stem hominoid preceding the divergence between lesser and great apes, although alternate interpretations (stem catarrhine, stem hylobatid) cannot be confidently ruled out.
By clarifying the phylogenetic position of the aforementioned taxa, my PhD project will decipher the evolutionary history of hominoids during the Miocene in Southern Europe. The research project’s results will definitely have utmost significance for the reconstruction of the last common ancestors shared by gibbons and great apes (Pliobates) as well as that of pongines and hominins (Pierolapithecus and Hispanopithecus).
Planned secondments
Secondment period of 4 months, during PhD year 2, at Institut Català de Paleontologia (ICP) under David M. Alba's supervision to integrate Dryopithecinae’s palaeoproteomic information with the morphometric one and contextualise the reconstruction of the phylogenetic placement of this taxon.
CV
October 2019–July 2020
Project Assistant
Berlin, Germany
Nascent Transcription And Cell Differentiation Group, Dr. Mayer, Max Planck Inst.
February 2018 – July 2019
Laboratory Assistant/Bioinformatician
Genetics Group, Prof. Lenhard, University of Potsdam
2015–2019
Master’s program: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Potsdam
Potsdam, Germany
MSc Thesis: “Ancient sedimental DNA from extremely dry environments - a study on two sediment cores from Lake Chew Bahir, Ethiopia ”
2012-2015
Bachelor’s program: Life Sciences, University of Potsdam
Potsdam, Germany
BSc Thesis: "Pattern of haplotype succession in Brachionus sp. in sediments of Lake Eight, Suguta Valley, Kenya"
Publications
Rybak A, Bents D, Krüger J, Groth D. The end of the secular trend in Norway: spatial trends in body height of Norwegian conscripts in the 19th, 20th and 21st century. Anthropologischer Anzeiger; Bericht Uber die Biologisch-anthropologische Literatur. 2020 Jun. DOI: 10.1127/anthranz/2020/1254.
Krüger J, Foerster V, Trauth M H, Hofreiter M, Tiedemann R. Exploring the Past Biosphere of Chew Bahir/Southern Ethiopia: Cross-Species Hybridization Capture of Ancient Sedimentary DNA from a Deep Drill Core. Front. Earth Sci., 20 September 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.683010
