Objective
Biodiversity on Earth ultimately depends on the origin of species by natural selection. Important driving forces of diversification are the evolutionary processes between parasites and their hosts.
The obligate ectoparasitic Laboulbeniales fungi are associated with arthropods. Only some ant species are known hosts, and of only five species of these fungi. Of these five species, only Rickia wasmannii and Laboulbenia camponoti were known from Europe, until recent records of the exotic L. formicarum. These fungi are understudied in Europe and the few references about them are mostly records from new regions. Publications about the physiological and behavioural effect of these fungi on their ant hosts are not available but I hypothesise their strong evolutionary effect on the ants and vice versa. Based on the relatively easy laboratory culturing of ant colonies and to the large proportion of infected individuals within infected ant nests, ants are excellent model organisms to study the interaction of Laboulbeniales fungi with their hosts. Such general principles can potentially help also understand the adaptation mechanisms of other parasite populations to their hosts.
My aim is to provide hitherto missing basic knowledge about the ant-Laboulbeniales system, and to foster deeper study of this interaction. My research will include distribution mapping, investigation of the transmission between ant colonies and testing the physiological and behavioural effect of these fungi on ant colonies. The results can be relevant for conservational questions (e.g. the rarity of R. wasmannii and L. camponoti, if they need any protection; or the effect of the exotic L. formicarum on the native ant species).
This project will enable me to introduce new methods (e.g. GC-MS) and the research atmosphere acquired in Copenhagen (during a Marie Curie IEF), to learn new methods (e.g. SEM), and to collaborate with researchers across Europe, which will benefit my research career.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology mycology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)
Coordinator
4032 Debrecen
Hungary
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.