Objective
A central goal in evolutionary biology is to understand the molecular changes responsible for phenotypic differences between species, in particular those that have arisen among mammals. Phenotypic evolution is thought to be largely founded on developmental gene regulatory changes, which determine species-specific tissue morphologies and thus lay the foundation for their typical physiological properties. We recently performed the first cross-mammalian transcriptome comparisons for adult organs, providing many insights into the molecular evolution of organ physiologies, but the evolution of developmental transcriptomes remains largely unstudied. I propose to generate comprehensive RNA sequencing data for a collection of adult tissues and developmental precursors from many mammals and tetrapod outgroup species (birds, reptiles, amphibians). The data will include dense ontogenetic time courses for key reference species, covering embryonic stages and, for mammals, placental tissues. We will identify coding and noncoding genes constituting core ancestral tissue transcriptomes and assess relative contributions of gene expression changes and the emergence of new genes to the evolution of phenotypically relevant expression patterns. We will also empirically evaluate global models of evolutionary conservation patterns during embryogenesis and placentation. To understand the dynamics of functional and regulatory interactions of different gene types and their evolutionary relevance, we will reconstruct evolutionary transcription networks and assess associated regulatory mechanisms. Overall, this inter-disciplinary “evo-devo” project will unveil ontogenetic and adult gene expression programs underlying shared (ancestral) and lineage-specific morphological and physiological phenotypes. It will thus substantially advance our understanding of the molecular basis of phenotypic evolution.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- natural sciences biological sciences developmental biology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology molecular evolution
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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.
ERC-2013-CoG
See other projects for this call
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.
Host institution
69117 Heidelberg
Germany
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.