Objective
Understanding the evolution and maintenance of cooperation is one of the major challenges in biology and is epitomised by the eusocial insects, which Darwin even considered to be potentially fatal to his theory of natural selection. Hamilton’s seminal papers revolutionised our understanding of evolution by explaining cooperation in social insect societies via kin selection, where individuals gain fitness by helping their relatives. But, in the absence of an overarching manager, how is it decided who does what tasks in these cooperative societies? Most biological research considers individual animals as discrete entities, however they in fact host a plethora of symbiotic microbes that can have significant beneficial or parasitic effects on their hosts. The importance of these symbioses is now beginning to be understood - gut microbiota have been found to affect, and be affected by behaviour and the expression of associated genes in different animals. Gut bacteria and behaviour in social insects are known to be influenced by many of the same factors (e.g. age), however, the relationship between microbial associations, sociality and division of labour, remains almost entirely unexplored. To address this gap, this project will investigate the relationship between microbial communities and the evolution of sociality, individual behaviour and division of labour, and the role in these of DNA-methylation-mediated effects. This will be achieved by sequencing and characterising the gut bacteria community and epigenetic architecture of workers performing different behaviours, experimentally manipulating the microbe communities, and also characterising individuals with different social phenotypes from a single population. This project will provide important insights into the bidirectional relationships between symbionts and division of labour, and the associated training will provide a step-change in my expertise as a scientist.
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 microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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-2013-IEF
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.
Coordinator
BN1 9RH Brighton
United Kingdom
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.