Natural History Museum

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-06

Geological sources of lithium are dominated by “hard rock” pegmatite ores and brine systems in salt lakes (salars). However, a new emergent class of lithium volcano-sedimentary (LiVS) “soft rock” deposits includes the world’s largest geological lithium resource Thacker Pass in the USA and the enigmatic high-grade Jadar deposit in Serbia with its unique borosilicate assemblage. LiVS deposits can potentially exploit extraction and processing technologies that have reduced energy requirements and lower environmental impact for lithium production. Through the recently completed NERC-funded Highlight Topic study (LiFT) the NHM team has published key peer-reviewed publications on LiVS deposits that have significantly advanced academic understanding of both the formation of these deposits and possible ways we can discover and exploit them. These publications have confirmed that LiVS deposits are the result of the eruption of seemingly Li-fertile magmas during high Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) events followed by subsequent redeposition of fragmental material and ash within endorheic basins (both calderas and extensional basins) with subsequent closed hydrological system diagenesis (CHSD) producing ore bodies containing lithium clays or in exceptional circumstances borosilicate minerals like jadarite. In the context of the Mineral Systems Approach (MSA) the LiFT research has already identified the key features of the metal and ligand source and the mineralogical mechanisms by which lithium is trapped and preserved. Nevertheless, the earlier processes by which Li and ligands are transported from the deep magmatic source through the eruption cycle to then becoming available to the various possible mineralogical traps in the basin remain poorly understood. This knowledge gap will be addressed by the LiVS proposal formed of a consortium comprising a Natural History Museum (NHM) team in partnership with collaborators at the University of Oxford (UoO) and the University of Naples (UoN). Complementing the NHM team’s ores systems knowledge and mineralogical characterisation capabilities, the UoO brings world-leading expertise in observational and experimental petrology, volcanology and geochemistry which are directly applicable to these systems. UoN brings additional LiVS deposit experience, and our industry partners bring access to relevant material and commercial insights into the subject. Our approach will utilize samples collected from lithium-fertile volcanoes (US, Andes, Mediterranean region) that will be used in experimental studies to trace the pathway of lithium and related elements from the magmatic products to the volcano-sedimentary environment. In so doing we will achieve four high-level objectives: ·       Definition of the physical and chemical processes acting during volcanic fragmentation and degassing while following the fate of lithium through devitrification, diagenesis, and hydrothermal alteration. We will produce a fully quantitative analysis of lithium behaviour in volcanic systems from the melt through its eruption and into its capture/loss in sedimentary mineralized traps. ·       Dedicated hydrothermal experiments will track the chemical and mineralogical changes in natural samples, testing predicted behaviour for lithium mobilisation, transportation and deposition under expected conditions for evolving LiVS deposits. ·       Robust models for LiVS systems will be developed from full mineralogical characterisation of the natural samples and experiment products. These models will also directly inform new economically viable processing strategies thereby extending the inventory of potential lithium deposits. ·       Models describing the transportation mechanisms of Li in the near surface volcanic environments will improve our understanding of LiVS ore systems clarifying both lithium capture in geological materials and the mechanisms responsible for the development of lithium-rich brine deposits.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-09

Just months ago the first CRISPR-based gene editing therapy (Casgevy™) was licensed in the UK, USA, and EU to treat sickle cell and related anaemias but at a reported cost of $2.2m per patient.  Many other CRISPR based treatments are under development and awaiting regulatory approval but a consistent concern is the consequences of off-target genome editing. These events could be harmful, even causing cancer, and finding such events or even side effects in clinical trials will cause expensive failures which push up the cost of the successful versions of these new therapeutics. Whilst the majority of off-target events are classified as guide RNA (gRNA) dependent, whereby the CRISPR complex binds to an off-target site with a similar sequence to the target site, less common gRNA-independent off-target events have also been identified. In 2022 Nork et al. showed that 22 years after the publication of the first human genome, long read nanopore sequencing was finally able to completely sequence and assemble the human genome revealing a previously hidden 8% of the genome, an additional  238 million bases. Each human genome has millions of single nucleotide polymorphisms compared to the reference, and some contain large chunks (millions of bases) of novel sequence. Indeed human genetic diversity has been shown to alter off-target outcomes of CRISPR therapeutic gene editing. Our ability to predict in-silico the impact of genetic diversity on CRISPR activity is currently limited due to the bias in existing human variation datasets towards the European population. Ideally the on- and off- target activity profile for a CRISPR-based therapeutic needs to be assessed on a per patient basis, prior to treatment delivery. Similar off-target concerns exist for genome editing of livestock and crops, which also require regulatory approval. These genomes are often 10x  more variable between breeds and cultivars than the human genome, and many key crops such as Wheat, Potatoes and Brassicas are polyploids, requiring edits of all gene copies, or just specific sub-genome homologues. Our project combines two disruptive technologies that are revolutionising genetics: CRISPR genome editing and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing. We have recently discovered how to modify the conditions in an ONT flow cell such that CRISPR/Cas9 can function while the nanopores continue to sequence normally. This allows us to rapidly profile the targeting specificity of a given gRNA, different CRISPR enzyme derivatives, and on different genomes. The largest commercial market for our approach would be screening CRISPR based human therapeutics, reducing development costs and enabling more genetic diseases to have therapeutics -  currently there are ~5,000 such untreated diseases with 200 million sufferers. In this project we will develop our technology further (wet lab and bioinformatics), and benchmark it to existing standards. Early discussions under NDA with a US biotech executive in this field has suggested to us that this technology would be of great interest. However, wide adoption of this technology and subsequent impact would necessitate substantial pilot data, as we outline in this proposal. Thus, we find our team at the happy coincidence of being able to generate academically interesting and publishable research alongside knowledge which we can transfer to industry to maximise the public good.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-08

This project will apply cutting edge analyses of snake retinas, to provide new insights into the diversity, function, and adaptive evolutionary plasticity of vertebrate vision. The diversity of functions performed by the nervous system depends on the variety of cells that compose it, and their specific patterns of connectivity for processing information. Vertebrate retinas are highly organised networks of neurons (signalling cells). All vertebrates share a deeply conserved, common retinal plan with five main varieties (classes) of neuron. However, the number of types of neurons within each class and their signal-transmission pathways vary among different vertebrate species, depending on their visual needs and evolutionary history. A great deal is known about the function and evolution of vertebrate retinas, but most of that knowledge comes from detailed studies of some mammals, fish and birds, with much less known about amphibians or reptiles. In this project, we will identify, for the first time, all types of neurons and their connectivity in the retinas of snakes. Background knowledge tells us that studying snakes is highly likely to provide novel results of much wider relevance for two main reasons: (i) because the eyes and retinas of snakes are very distinct from those of other vertebrates, including their closest living relatives (lizards). Snakes have many unusual features including a fuzzy distinction between rod and cone photoreceptor cells (with instances of unusual rod-like cones and cone-like rods), a unique double cone, and great variation in the relative thickness of the different layers of neurons in the inner retina; (ii) because the retinas of snakes are extremely diverse, being much more variable than those of other major groups of vertebrates. We will discover the full range of different types of neurons and their connectivity in the retinas of a range of snake species that we have selected based on their having diverse retinal architecture, different complements of rods and cones, different activity patterns (diurnal and nocturnal), and coming from different branches of the snake evolutionary (‘family’) tree. This will be achieved by undertaking two cutting edge analyses for 10 snake species: (i) single-nucleus transcriptomics (using gene sequences to identify neuron types for approximately 20–30 thousand retinal cells), and (ii) high-resolution 3D electron microscopy to physically map the connections among neurons for a small volume of retina. In addition, we will generate whole-retina transcriptomes (to obtain DNA sequences of all the genes expressed in a retina) for 20 snake species, and use these data to infer patterns and processes of the molecular evolution of genes involved in vision (in combination with similar data available from published whole-genomes for snakes). The transcriptomic data will also be used to generate new antibodies that can be labelled fluorescently, in order to visualise the position and connections of individual types of neurons in snake retinas. This highly innovative and audacious project will provide a leap in understanding of the function and evolutionary origin of the extreme retinal diversity seen in snakes. The project is a UK-Brazil collaboration by two of the leading experts on snake visual systems, in concert with expert technical support from colleagues in Germany. This team has recently worked together to generate pilot data on snake retinal neuron connectivity. This project will provide fundamental gains for the advancement of knowledge in visual neurosciences worldwide, and for joint UK-Brazil research.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-08

Societal issues including the biodiversity crisis, zoonotic diseases, and climate change demand a precise understanding of what species are and where they fit on the tree of life. Biodiversity scientists are at the forefront of efforts to describe species and the organismal characteristics that make them relevant in our changing world. Unlocking the patterns of biodiversity requires modern tools including large-scale genomic data and technically rigorous analyses, but also practical knowledge of how to obtain samples from field research. The challenge addressed: While evolutionary relationships underpin the work of almost every environmental scientist, current training opportunities in biodiversity discovery (fieldwork) and interpretation (i.e., taxonomy, phylogenetics, and systematic biology) are few for postgraduate students. Aims and objectives: This training short course (TSC) will fill a pedagogical gap by providing an immersive introduction to integrative biodiversity discovery. From field to analysis, academic staff at the Natural History Museum will take course participants on a learning journey through current protocols and topics within systematic biology. Caretakers of one of the largest and oldest collections of environmental samples in the world, lecturers will share extensive expertise across three modules of biodiversity discovery: field collection, laboratory analyses, and powerful digital analyses. Attendees will learn the integrative skills necessary to link these three modules of biodiversity discovery at London’s Natural History Museum: an inspirational backdrop for training. Applications and benefits: Over a five-day course, twenty students from around the UK will be provided with a comprehensive introduction to biodiversity discovery and interpretation. A module on field collecting of a wide range of organisms (including those found in remote field sites) will introduce attendees to data curation, archiving, and ethical considerations. Next, students will learn how the chain of data custody is linked from field to the molecular laboratory. The NHM’s own molecular laboratory facility will provide lectures and practicals as an introduction to the short and long-read DNA sequencing methods that are used in integrative biodiversity discovery. Finally, an analytical module with lectures and practicals will guide students through phylogenomic methods including maximum likelihood inference and Bayesian coalescent analyses. From viruses to whales, phylogenomics has emerged as a powerful approach for inferring evolutionary relationships amongst organisms. Information obtained from these tree-building analyses informs not only how we name and study different species, but also how we understand interactions amongst ecological communities. Collectively, the TSC will increase biodiversity literacy and comprehension in a diverse group of early career scientists. The skills provided by this TSC support NERC’s Digital Strategy 2021 to 2030 in covering the dimensions of data stewardship (digital data collection in the field), data analysis (genomic sequencing in the lab), and modelling and simulation (phylogenomic analyses to reconstruct evolutionary histories). This training opportunity will also prepare students to meet the thematic challenges set out by UKRI in their strategy 2022 to 2027, as biodiversity literacy underpins building a green future (documenting and conserving biodiversity), securing a more resilient world (through biodiversity knowledge), creating opportunities across the UK (increasing biodiversity awareness in the emerging job force), better human wellbeing (improved livelihoods with biodiversity appreciation), and tackling infections (elucidating microbial and parasite diversity).

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-07

The Distributed System of Scientific Collections UK is a national infrastructure to revolutionise how we manage, share and use the UK's natural science collections, creating a distributed network that provides a step change in research infrastructure for the UK. While the physical integration of such a collection would be almost inconceivable, its digital integration is within reach. Building on the UK Natural History Museum's (NHM) digitisation programme and in partnership with more than 90 collection-holding institutions across the length and breadth of the UK, DiSSCo UK seeks to unlock the full scientific, economic and social benefits of the UK's natural science collections, which are presently constrained by the limits of physical access. With just 8% of the UK's 140 million specimens currently available digitally, their role in the emerging biodiversity data revolution is diminished. Through nationally coordinated action, DiSSCo UK seeks to massively accelerate the digitisation of these collections and the impact of these data. Since 2021, AHRC's iDAH programme has been supporting this community to coordinate their activities in the development of a national programme of digitisation to unlock the full potential of these collections. In particular, iDAH has facilitated construction and maintenance of the collections access repository www.dissco-uk.org, and the data pipelines feeding this repository. Having successfully submitted an outline proposal to UKRI's infrastructure fund for £155.6m investment, DiSSCo UK Transition is intended to help bridge the gap to support the programme of work until late 2026, while the Outline and Full Business Cases are developed and go through UK government approvals processes. In this proposal, we mark the end of the preparatory phase of DiSSCo UK and enter the transition phase with a series of tasks that continue to develop and iterate the data repository and lead the DiSSCo UK national network of partners towards operational readiness. DiSSCo Transition is intended to run until the formal start of DiSSCo UK as an infrastructure, expected between April to September 2026, subject to approval of a finalised timeline.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-07

The meiofauna constitutes the microscopic, aquatic invertebrates and protists of <1 mm size, such as nematodes, tardigrades, and rotifers, which can be found ubiquitously in sediments and on aquatic plants. Research activity on these communities, which are crucial to the transfer of energy and materials between the microbial and visible worlds, is disproportionately low relative to their considerable species diversity and unparalleled phylogenetic diversity. Indeed, the sheer magnitude of this diversity, and the requirement for careful microscopical study for proper identification, has limited the taxonomic attention on these creatures. Hence, if ecological and applied studies consider meiofauna at all, it is typically only a few exemplar taxa that are recorded, and only to a limited taxonomic resolution, such as family or order. DNA-based taxonomy stands to revolutionize this status quo, but with experienced taxonomists in demographic decline, the window to populate sequence databases with well-determined references assigned to Linnean taxa is closing. In marine settings, a powerful initiative to counter this inertia has been the establishment of "all-taxon meiofauna workshops", in which early career scientists are paired with established taxonomic experts covering most or all meiobenthic taxa in a biodiverse field setting. Such workshops are vital to perpetuating practical natural history and taxonomic knowledge of these overlooked creatures, and often become seminal experiences for all participants, germinating enduring collaboration networks and new research directions. This proposal will fund, to our knowledge, the first such taxonomic workshop focused on freshwater meiofauna, intended to support the next generation of ecologists and systematists. Set in the Lake District over two weeks in early autumn, we will cover field techniques for sampling soils/mosses, standing and running waters, and groundwater. In our fieldwork, especially in globally significant temperate rainforests, we will explore a theme of how human land use and climate change may affect meiofauna. Each of 13 taxonomists, many of whom represent globally prominent experts, will teach the fundamental biology and natural history of their animals, with a pragmatic focus on the microscopical techniques and morphological characters that are needed for identification, and a review of the most important literature and database resources. The core of the workshop, representing ~40% of our time, is the practical study of living specimens, during which students will also have opportunities to practice advanced microscopical techniques and digital microphotography & videography. In this practical segment, taxon experts will also populate an inventory, preserving as many well-determined specimens as possible for genomic study at the Sanger Institute’s Darwin Tree of Life initiative. We will consolidate our activities with a capstone project in which all participants are challenged to "adopt" a species, identifying it with a Linnean name if possible, and presenting the details of its natural history and taxonomy for both specialist and public audiences - which latter will be addressed in a short social media video recorded on site. Finally, and with all taxon experts joining as students as well, we will test the coherence of the participants' species by conducting an in-field nanopore sequencing project, in which DNA barcodes are collected from many digitally photo-vouchered representatives of each adopted species. We will then demonstrate species delimitation techniques on the students' own data, and consider the implications (e.g. the presence of cryptic species, or overlooked diagnostic characters consilient with the molecular results), closing the hypothesis-testing cycle.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-05

Snakes are a large radiation (ca. 4,000 species) of reptiles that evolved from lizard ancestors. Although the early evolutionary history of snakes is hotly debated, the remarkable transition to an elongated, limbless body form is generally thought to have evolved as an adaptation to a fossorial (burrowing) lifestyle. Life in soil imposes several, severe functional constraints on morphology and this has led to the view that limbless, headfirst burrowers are less likely to undergo rapid or adaptive radiation. Surprisingly, very few studies have explored the ecomorphological diversification of any major extant burrowing snake lineage, despite implications for understanding evolution in soils (including the possible origin of snakes). SOILRAD will trace the diversification of lineages and the adaptive possibilities of ecomorphology in Uropeltoidea, a major lineage of soil-dwelling snakes with great diversity in body and hea shape. In SOILRAD, I will explore uropeltoid diversification through three Research Objectives: (1.) apply 3-dimensional geometric morphometrics to microCT data from the huge collection of museum specimens at NHM, to quantify and identify the main axes of variation in skeletal morphology (skull, mandible and 'neck' vertebrae); (2.) use ancient DNA and Next-Generation sequencing techniques to reconstruct a more-complete evolutionary tree of Uropeltoidea; and (3.) assess rates and modes of lineage and ecomorphological diversification, and test hypotheses of adaptive radiation. SOILRAD will produce the most comprehensive phylogenetic hypothesis and first extensive quantitative data on uropeltoid osteology, and first detailed assessment of diversification in any major lineage of burrowing snakes. Through SOILRAD, I will be trained in CT imaging, 3D morphometrics, ancient DNA methods, museum collection management, public engagement and other professional skills that will establish me as a potential research-group leader in evolutionary biology research.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-05

Pollinating insects are keystone species in almost all terrestrial ecosystems, playing a vital role in the reproductive success of both wild and cultivated flowering plants. However, pollinator populations have been declining in recent years due to various factors, including habitat loss, pesticide use, and disease. A better understanding of genome diversity in pollinator species, and how it has changed over time, will provide valuable insights into the factors driving these declines and inform future conservation efforts, in turn will benefiting both natural and farmed plant populations. To understand how pollinator genomes are changing, and whether there is a shared history of population change across different pollinating insect taxa, we need to a baseline to compare against. Fortunately, museum collections offer a unique opportunity to access DNA from historical pollinator specimens, which can be used to establish that baseline, and reveal changes in genome diversity. Here we will analyse DNA from modern and museum collections of pollinator insect species to understand the impacts of ongoing pollinator decline at the genome level. We will examine changes in diversity across species which are in decline, and others which are stable or expanding, to measure the impact of change in population size, structure and selection pressure. Our specific objectives are to: O1. Determine whether there are broad patterns of population structure in our target species, and whether those patterns have been stable over the past 100 years. This is important for determining management and conservation strategy for the species, and in any future effort to predict responses to land-use and climate change. O2. Determine the degree of genome diversity in our target species, and whether it has been stable over the past 100 years. These metrics are critical for establishing whether reduction in population size have led to inbreeding and reduced fitness or whether there is evidence for introgression from overseas populations. These metrics will also be used to assess the resilience of these species to novel selective forces in future. O3. Determine whether there is clear evidence of selection in our target species for loci associated with resistance to pesticides, pathogens, and changes in diet and metabolism. We can already identify candidate loci in the literature, and will extend this list as the project advances. These data will inform future management strategy by establishing the extent to which species have already adapted to changes in their environment, and at which loci. O4. Establish any clear patterns of genome diversity change in our target species and determine how these relate to known changes in land-use, climate, pesticide usage, and observation records. We will do this by compiling regional level data on these changes, and comparing the timing and rate of shifts in genome-data. This project has the potential to provide critical insights into the past and future response of pollinator insect species to recent environmental change. However, the potential findings go well beyond conservation biology or agriculture. Currently, we have very little genome data on insect populations beyond pest species, but these species provide fundamental ecosystem services across the globe. In addition, almost no genome analyses have been conducted on museum insect collections, meaning that this project has potential to advance the emerging field of collections genomics, using the vast numbers of museum specimens available to explore basic evolutionary processes over ecological timescales.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-05

There is a national need for taxonomic training as outlined by the The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee report on the state of taxonomy and systematics (2008) which raised concerns about the health of the discipline in the UK and its ability to support the needs of its user communities. Current undergraduate teaching does not provide the necessary essential training for postgraduate research and professional careers in freshwater biodiversity and environmental research as well as management and policy. Accurate species identification is fundamental for biodiversity assessments, monitoring and conservation of freshwater environments, digital biodiversity data, to inform management and policy development, as well as research into food webs and ecosystem function. Furthermore, freshwater environments are facing an increasing number of pressures in the UK due to intensive agriculture, sewage and climate change. NERC therefore has identified key skill gap priority areas including taxonomy and systematics, freshwater sciences and field work.   To overcome this skills challenge, the aim of the proposal is to deliver a training short course on taxonomic skills and field techniques for environmental scientists and aligns with NERC’s current research programs including understanding of effectiveness of natural flood management and UK climate resilience.   This proposed course will provide bespoke training in practical identification skills tailored to the requirements of the participants and UK skills gap. There is no comparable course with a focus on taxonomic training of freshwater groups currently offered covering the same range of both freshwater benthic and planktonic taxonomic groups.   To address the skills gap, the training objectives of the course will cover the following topics: Introduction to the taxonomy and identification of major freshwater groups. Practical training in the use of keys and existing handbooks. Microscopy techniques. Field work. Overview of freshwater habitats and appropriate sampling techniques. Hands-on training in sampling techniques, recording protocols for species lists, community assessment and monitoring. Data analysis methods, quantitative methodologies and experimental field design. Approaches to integrate taxonomic data and the physical and chemical properties of freshwater aquatic habitats. Preservation of different aquatic freshwater groups for voucher specimens and long-term storage.   The course is delivered by Natural History Museum (NHM) experts in freshwater biology and biodiversity research ranging aquatic invertebrates, algae, cyanobacteria, aquatic lichens, macrophytes, and protists.   After completing the course, participants will 1) know how to use handbooks and keys for the taxonomic identification of a range of freshwater groups; 2) understand best practice in collecting and preparing  specimens for taxonomic identification; 3) be familiar with the use of microscopes; 4) be aware of preservation of different aquatic freshwater groups for voucher specimens and long-term storage; 5) be familiar with freshwater habitats and appropriate sampling techniques according to habitat characteristics; 6) be aware of sampling techniques, recording protocols for species lists, community assessment and monitoring approaches. The 5-day course will entail two days of lectures, a one-day field excursion to the New Forest and two days of extensive hands-on practical sessions of taxonomic identification training. By working closely with NHM scientists, participants will gain expertise to meet the needs and challenges of their current and future careers. The course will also enable participants to meet postgraduate students and early career researchers beyond their doctoral training programmes  to exchange experiences and form new links to start building their research network for their future careers.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-02

This proposal aims to address an important long-standing palaeontological question concerning the timing and nature of the animals who undertook the earliest explorations on land in Earth's history. The main focus of this proposal is to use trace fossils, combined with cutting-edge theoretical and numerical approaches, to identify the earliest traces left by the movement of animals on land, to determine their putative trace makers, and to establish their mobility and sensory capabilities. This work will involve integrating concepts and methods from mathematics and computational mechanics with palaeontological and sedimentological approaches, thereby establishing a new quantitative ichnological framework. To achieve this I will: (1) use statistical approaches to establish a set of metrics that can quantitatively identify the producer of trace fossils; (2) establish a semi-resolved coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method to reproduce trace formation on land, under water and on microbial mats; (3) conduct a dimensional analysis to find out the scaling law relating trace fossil instability (an indicator of terrestrial traces), animal mobility and environmental parameters; and finally (4) use the obtained scaling law to investigate putative terrestrial traces from the Ediacaran and Cambrian periods. This project will enhance research in the area of quantitative ichnology, with broad implications in the Earth sciences, evolutionary biology and ethology. This project will enable me to develop as an independent interdisciplinary researcher working across palaeontology, computational mechanics and evolutionary biology, ultimately allowing me to establish my own international research team.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-02

The global seaweed industry is the fastest growing aquaculture sector contributing half of global marine production. Southeast Asia, notably Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, is the largest producer of red seaweeds that produce carrageenan, a hydrocolloid used in foods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, worth c. US$14.7 billion and supporting over 1 million livelihoods there. Seaweeds, a low trophic crop, are of huge benefit to Southeast Asia, and unlike finfish/shrimp aquaculture, contribute to enhancing biodiversity. Demand for carrageenan is surging, but seaweed production systems in this region are massively challenged by the lack of genetic diversity, making them vulnerable to pests and diseases. This is compounded by climate change, which is also devastating wild seaweeds and habitats, the source of new cultivars on which the seaweed industry depends. These challenges threatening crop health, the wider environment and the livelihoods of the communities that rely on this industry for income. GLOBALSEAWEED-PROTECT aims to achieve a productive seaweed industry in Southeast Asia by taking a One Health approach. This will ensure that production systems are resilient to climate change, crops are healthy by preventing the introduction and spread of pests and disease, wild seaweed biodiversity and the wider environment are protected and enhanced, improving the long-term livelihoods of farmers and their communities, and providing a model for the rest of the world. The objectives, developed with our partners in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, are to build capability and capacity in and between countries in i) research innovation, ii) development of resilient crops, (iii) implementation of biosecurity management strategies and tool kits for improving seaweed health, and (iv) engagement with local communities, researchers, governments, industry and NGOs through ‘Sharing Best Practice’ workshops. These objective will be realised through four Work Packages: WP1: Sustain resilient and viable seaweed production systems. WP2: Improve resilience of cultivars to climate change and pest and diseases. WP3: Adapt and build seaweed aquaculture systems that reduce losses of production due to disease, while also improving the health of the commercial crop and the wider aquatic environment. WP4: Empower local solutions to ensure viable and resilient seaweed production systems. The outcomes of new methodologies and knowledge generated from developing climate-resilient seaweed cultivars and how these temperature-resilient cultivars adapt to climate change will have far-reaching applications and benefits for seaweed farming throughout Southeast Asia and beyond. Understanding wild and farmed biodiversity and how seaweed farming and help seaweed-habitat restoration and the wider environment will strengthen production systems and, therefore, be of value to seaweed farmers. Implementing a Global Seaweed Protection Strategy will optimise seaweed health, the ecosystems supporting them, communities reliant on these crops and of value to policy makers. Introducing a Progressive Management Pathway for Improving Aquaculture Biosecurity (PMP/AB), trialling innovative early warning pests and diseases detection methodologies, and working with local communities to achieve a more reliable economy through e.g., crop diversification, will also improve production system health and thus livelihoods. This project will also contribute to the UK Government’s International Development Strategy to re-energise the UN Sustainable Development Goals, notably No Poverty, No Hunger, Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Reduced Inequality, Climate Action, and Life Below Water. Through our collaborations and further development of research networks our proposal will, therefore, have a legacy of cooperation well beyond the lifetime of the funding.    

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-02

The Cabeça do Cachorro region (or Tsiino Hiiwiida, in the Baniwa language) of the Upper Rio Negro in Brazilian Amazonia is a last global frontier of untapped biodiversity knowledge. The spatially complex arrangement of habitats in the region, including archipelagos of white-sand forests within a matrix of black-water, upland, and montane forests, is a major ‘theatre’ for evolution over millions of years of geological history. This region remains an epicentre for the discovery of new and endemic species, however it is disproportionately less explored botanically than other diversity hotspots of northern South America. An integrated effort is imperative to more comprehensively document and understand its biodiversity at multiple scales. In this proposal, we have built a broad collaborative network among professors, researchers, indigenous and non-indigenous students, as well as parataxonomists to aggregate scientific knowledge, accelerate the discovery of plants and fungi, and fill gaps in taxonomic, biogeographic, and evolutionary knowledge of this biologically and culturally unique region. We propose to conduct floristic surveys which combine traditional fieldwork and studies in taxonomy, evolution, molecular systematics, and biomonitoring, with cutting edge metagenomic technology and interacting with and empowering local indigenous communities to offer a novel glimpse into the diversity of this extraordinarily rich region. Research expeditions focusing on plants and fungi will lay the groundwork for enriching scientific collections, revealing new, cryptic, or phylogenetically enigmatic species and lineages, and producing the first taxonomically verified catalog of the flora and fungi of the Cabeça do Cachorro. Our proposal also aims to foster collaborations among educational and research Amazonian institutions with other Brazilian states and the United Kingdom in order to continue expanding horizons for discovery in a global epicentre of biodiversity.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-12

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx visited asteroid Bennu and brought back 121g of regolith in Sept 2023. Preliminary findings show that there are multiple lithologies of heavily aqueously altered material composed of phyllosilicates, carbonates, magnetite and sulphides, with rare primordial (pre-accretionary) silicates. The scientific questions to be answered, based on our preliminary work on Bennu are: (1) what is the nature of the pre-accretionary silicates in Bennu? and (2) what was the composition of the fluid that altered Bennu? To answer these questions we will undertake oxygen isotope analyses on the pre-accretionary olivine/pyroxene grains that make up a minor component [3], and oxygen isotopes on the precipitated carbonate and other secondary phases. This will enable us to deliver our essential contributions to NASA and the mission's Science Analysis Team.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-11

The KRILLGUARD project aims to protect the Southern Ocean ecosystem by focusing on Antarctic Krill (Euphasia superba), a keystone species in the ecosystem. With an estimated biomass between 300-500 million tonnes and a population of 300-500 trillion individuals, Antarctic krill is one of the most successful animal species on Earth. It plays a central role in nutrient cycling, as a consumer of phytoplankton and as prey for large animals such as penguins, seals, and whales. Additionally, it has commercial importance through the krill fishing industry which has an annual catch value exceeding $200 million. However, Antarctic krill faces significant challenges due to climate change. As a stenothermic species, it is adapted to a narrow temperature range of -2 to 5C, making it highly sensitive to rising temperatures. Over the past 90 years Antarctic waters have warmed 1C, and the krill have moved polewards to colder waters. Changing seasonal habitats could disrupt critical stages in krill's life cycle. To effectively protect this species and manage fishing activities, it is crucial to understand the diversity of Antarctic krill and how this species will respond to future climate change. The KRILLGUARD project proposes a comprehensive study of the population genetics and adaptive capacity of Antarctic krill in the Southern Ocean. Utilizing extensive historical collections from the Natural History Museum (>20,000), recent collected samples from the British Antarctic Survey (>10,000) and contemporary samples from fishing vessels in British Antarctic territories, the project aims to uncover population dynamics and resilience of Antarctic krill. This knowledge will be vital for effective management and conservation efforts. Specifically, we will address the following overarching questions: 1. What did historical krill diversity look like prior to the onset of anthropogenic climate change and widespread fishing? 2. How has contemporary krill diversity been impacted by changes in climate change and predation pressure over the last century? 3. How has krill changed its biology in response to climate change and predation pressure? 4. How adaptable are krill to climatic change? The outcomes of the KRILLGUARD project have far-reaching potential applications and benefits. The project's findings will inform policymakers, and the wider research community about the impact of climate change and fishing on Antarctic krill populations. This knowledge will help shape conservation strategies, sustainable fishing practices, and policies to protect the Southern Ocean ecosystem. The project's insights into population dynamics, resilience, and genetic diversity will aid in the rotation of fishing quotas across different populations, ensuring the maintenance of genetic diversity and the avoidance of overfishing vulnerable subpopulations. Moreover, the project's efforts to develop genomic DNA markers specific to Antarctic krill will facilitate fisheries monitoring and enable quicker development of policies based on data. By unlocking the genomic potential of museum collections, the project will contribute to a better understanding of the effect of climate change on the Antarctic ecosystem. It will provide a foundation for future research in genomics, biodiversity change, and the utilization of natural history collections. Overall, the KRILLGUARD project seeks to safeguard the Southern Ocean ecosystem by studying Antarctic krill and understanding its response to climate change and fishing pressure. Through its scientific endeavors, the project aims to contribute to a healthy and resilient environment, tackle global environmental challenges, and support sustainable management of the Antarctic ecosystem.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

The Solar System formed from the collapse of a molecular cloud of gas and dust ~4.6 billion years ago. But how did that gas and dust coalesce into the Sun and eight planets that we see today? What processes and events led to the formation of habitable planets like the Earth? And how do conditions at the birth of the Solar System compare to what we see in other planetary systems? I will answer these questions by studying meteorites and extraterrestrial samples returned by space missions, rocky time capsules that can be used to probe the earliest stages of Solar System formation and the evolution of planets. Water may have been delivered to habitable planets by asteroids. Two space missions, JAXA's Hayabusa2 and NASA's OSIRIS-REx, have successfully returned to Earth with samples of the water-rich asteroids Ryugu and Bennu, respectively. In addition, the fall of the Winchcombe meteorite provided the UK with complementary materials from the early Solar System. I will study the mineralogy and composition of Ryugu, Bennu, and fresh hydrated meteorites to understand the aqueous and thermal history of primitive water-rich asteroids and constrain the nature and distribution of volatiles in the protoplanetary disk. In the last decade new computer models and the detection of exoplanets have shown that planetary systems are dramatically shaped by giant planet migration. In the Solar System, the inward and outward movement of Jupiter and Saturn caused turbulence and widespread mixing of materials from the inner and outer regions of the protoplanetary disk. I will use hypervelocity impact experiments to reproduce this mixing and determine how much water was retained in planetary surfaces following asteroid impacts. Some meteorites come from asteroids that have remained dormant throughout their history and preserve minerals that were once swirling around the newly forming Sun. I will investigate presolar grains that condensed around ancient stars to understand their role in the formation and evolution of organic matter in interstellar space and the first stages of accretion within the Solar System.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-07

Natural history specimen collections, such as those curated in museums and herbaria across the UK, are invaluable resources for bioscience research, representing an enormous labor effort over decades and centuries, used to create an archive of millions of physical specimens identified to the highest standard. Digitization of these specimens, including of DNA sequences commonly used in molecular genetic and ecological research, would hugely improve their accessibility to the wider biological community, improving by orders of magnitude the species diversity represented in public sequence databases. This will greatly improve our ability to detect and understand organisms and gene sequences relevant to the BBSRC remit, including agricultural pests, crop cultivars, pollinators, parasites, vectors of pathogens, and remains of ancient peoples. However, the vast majority of these specimens were preserved prior to the molecular era, and as such the condition of DNAs in these specimens is poor - fragmented to <100 base-pairs, and chemically damaged, making them impossible to access using popular techniques such as "DNA barcoding". Short read sequencing provides a solution to this quandry through economic brute force - we are now able to sequence over a billion DNA bases for circa £5-10. In particular, we are now able to "skim-read" the genome for a total economic cost of £20-30/specimen, generating high-quality sequences of markers of high relevance in species identification such as mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes and ribosomal DNA. Deeper sequencing of these specimens can also be used to call population variants or mine for specific nuclear sequences of relevance in biomedicine and agriculture. This award will allow the Natural History Museum to purchase instruments enabling our molecular labs to offer the world's first specialist service for "genome skimming" of historical specimens, receiving tissue specimens from users and returning data for under £30/specimen. We will rely on the instruments this award funds to achieve this vision in two ways. Firstly, user-friendly liquid handling/automation instruments will act as a "force multiplier" for a lab technician, enabling several 100s of specimens to be processed in the time that it would take to process a few 10s of specimens manually. These instruments, which dispense sustainably and economically with dramatically lower use of disposable plasticware, would also enable us to cut the volume of sequencing library prep reactions, reducing this cost to a few £/specimen. Secondly, we would sequence the samples in-house, using special read formats appropriate to the highly fragmented nature of historical DNA, on a new generation of sequencing instruments. These deliver field-leading accuracy and cost-per-base (for us, circa £10/skim), at a purchase cost ca. 1/4 that of high-throughput instruments used in specialist centres. With 5 project partners from some of the UK's most prominent natural history collections, we will apply this service to skim 1000s of specimens in the first year of operation, before opening to general submission. This service, building on the NHM's expertise with these challenging templates, will render molecular sequences from historical samples (all deposited publicly by default) accessible to a wide audience of comparative and applied biologists.