ArcEcoGen – Arctic Ecosystem Genomics

A UiT Aurora Center - Now hiring multiple positions, see below for details

ArcEcoGen  is committed to understanding changes in northern ecosystems over time, focusing on the roles of climate living organisms and humans. Using cutting-edge genomic tools, we explore and reconstruct diverse biological communities from land, freshwater, and coastal environments from the Early Holocene (11,700 years ago) to the present day. Our team is at the forefront of developing methods within environmental DNA (eDNA) and sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) investigating biodiversity-environment interactions, enhancing Arctic heritage management, and supporting conservation. Through providing world-class eDNA and sedaDNA analysis services for soils and sediments, ArcEcoGen stands as a leading center in ecosystem genomics nationally and globally.

Our research focuses on five main areas:

Participants of ArcEcoGen group meeting 2024

Organization of the Center's goals into work packages

Center leader


Work package leaders


Members


Former members


Projects



News






Publications

2024
  1. Holocene summer temperature reconstruction from plant seed aDNA and chironomids from the northern boreal forest 
  2. wholeskim: Utilizing genome skims for taxonomically annotating ancient DNA metagenomes
  3. Sedimentary ancient DNA reveals Neolithic pastoralism and plant community interactions at Southern European high altitude
  4. Harmonizing digitized herbarium data to enhance biodiversity knowledge: creating an updated checklist for the flora of Greenland
  5. Terrestrial Plant DNA from Lake Sediments
  6. Aquatic Vegetation DNA from Lake Sediments
  7. Refining Holocene sea-level variations for the Lofoten and Vesterålen archipelagos, northern Norway: implications for prehistoric human–environment interactions
  8. Diversity, toxicity, and distribution of potentially toxic diatoms in Antarctic waters––With description of Pseudo-nitzschia meridionalis sp. Nov. and P. glacialis
  9. Shifting invertebrate distributions in the Barents Sea since pre-1900
  10. Bakestones in Northern Norway: An Archaeological Witness to Medieval Foodways and Maritime Trade
  11. LocoGSE, a sequence-based genome size estimator for plants
  12. Multiplexing PCR allows the identification of within-species genetic diversity in ancient eDNA
  13. Using ancient sedimentary DNA to forecast ecosystem trajectories under climate change
  14. Uncovering Holocene climate fluctuations and ancient conifer populations: Insights from a high-resolution multi-proxy record from Northern Finland
  15. Steppe-tundra composition and deglacial floristic turnover in interior Alaska revealed by sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA)
  16. Exotic pollen in sediments from the high Arctic Lake Tenndammen, Svalbard archipelago: diversity, sources, and transport pathways
  17. 75. Lake Tenndammen, Colesdalen, Nordenskiöld Land, western Svalbard (Spitsbergen) archipelago
  18. Rapid adaptation of cellular metabolic rate to the MicroRNA complements of mammals and its relevance to the evolution of endothermy
  19. Hagfish genome elucidates vertebrate whole-genome duplication events and their evolutionary consequences
  20. A renaissance of microRNAs as taxonomic and phylogenetic markers in animals
  21. Insights into early animal evolution form the genome of the xenacoelomorph worm Xenoturbella bocki

2023

  1. Environmental DNA of aquatic macrophytes: the potential for reconstructing past and present vegetation and environments
  2. Historical RNA expression profiles from the extinct Tasmanian tiger
  3. Direct observation of the evolution of cell-type-specific microRNA expression signatures supports the hematopoietic origin model of endothelial cells
  4. Accurate microRNA annotation of animal genomes using trained covariance models of curated microRNA complements in MirMachine
  5. The drivers of plant community composition have shifted from external to internal processes over the past 20,000 years
  6. Sedimentary ancient DNA reveals local vegetation changes driven by glacial activity and climate

2022

  1. A 2-million-year-old ecosystem in Greenland uncovered by environmental DNA
  2. Postglacial species arrival and diversity buildup of northern ecosystems took millennia
  3. Towards a Jōmon food database: construction, analysis and implications for Hokkaido and the Ryukyu Islands, Japan
  4. MicroRNAs are deeply linked to the emergence of the complex octopus brain
  5. MirGeneDB 2.1: towards a complete sampling of all major animal phyla
  6. MicroRNAs as Indicators into the Causes and Consequences of Whole-Genome Duplication Events
  7. Larix species range dynamics in Siberia since the Last Glacial captured from sedimentary ancient DNA
  8. Tempo and drivers of plant diversification in the European mountain system
  9. Life before Stonehenge: The hunter-gatherer occupation and environment of Blick Mead revealed by sedaDNA, pollen and spores
  10. Plant biodiversity assessment through soil eDNA reflects temporal and local diversity
  11. ORTHOSKIM: In silico sequence capture from genomic and transcriptomic libraries for phylogenomic and barcoding applications

2021

  1. Lake sedimentary DNA research on past terrestrial and squatic biodiversity: overview and recommendations
  2. Ending the Cinderella status of terraces and lynchets in Europe: The geomorphology of agricultural terraces and implications for ecosystem services and climate adaptation
  3. Environmental palaeogenomic reconstruction of an Ice Age algal population
  4. Sedimentary ancient DNA shows terrestrial plant richness continuously increased over the Holocene in northern Fennoscandia
  5. Late Quaternary dynamics of Arctic biota from ancient environmental genomics

                                                                                        Vacancies

We strive to provide an excellent work environment, a supportive team, and ample growth opportunities. Join us to make an impact in the fields of modern and paleoecology through the use of cutting-edge ancient DNA technology.


ArcEcoGen – Arctic Ecosystem Genomics – A UiT Aurora Center - Now hiring multiple positions, see below for details


Kvaløyvegen 30, 9013 Tromsø


inger.g.alsos@uit.no
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