Hlusko Lab

Research focus

ERC Advanced Grant · 2021

Expanding our understanding of human evolution through pleiotropy

Teeth dominate the fossil and bioarchaeological records because they consist mostly of inorganic material. Consequently, dental anthropology has long been essential in our investigation of the human past. Variation in the anatomy of teeth is instrumental for differentiating species, identifying biological affinities between populations, making inferences about dietary adaptations, and timing key developmental life stages. However, recent advances in genetics, genomics, and developmental biology undermine many assumptions built into anthropologists’ study of the dentition by revealing extensive pleiotropy—when one gene influences more than one anatomical structure simultaneously. However,…

From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.