Objective
Virtually all terrestrial plants depend on symbiotic interactions with fungi. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi evolved over 450 million years ago, are obligate biotrophs and cannot complete their lifecycle without obtaining carbon from host roots. Mediating nutrient uptake and sequestering carbon in soil this symbiosis lie at the core of all terrestrial ecosystems. Plants on the other hand are facultative mycotrophs but under natural conditions all host roots are colonized as a result of multiple beneficial effects of AM fungi. In the symbiosis, both plants and fungi are promiscuous, forming interactions across individuals and species. In the absence of host-symbiont specificity and given their inability to discriminate among partners prior to interaction, evolutionary theory predicts that “free riders” would evolve and spread. Yet AM fungi remain evolutionary and ecologically successful. I propose that this is thanks to their unique genomic organization, a temporally dynamic heterokaryosis.
Unlike other eukaryotes, AM fungi have no single nucleate stage in their life cycle, instead they reproduce asexually by forming large multinucleate spores. Genetic variation is high and nuclei can migrate and mix within extensive mycelial networks. My group has recently established a single nucleus genomics method to study genetic variation among nuclei within AM fungi. With this method I can resolve the extent of heterokaryosis in AM fungi and its temporal dynamics. I will study the emergence of “free riders” upon intra organismal segregation of genetically distinct nuclei during AM fungal adaptation to host. Further I will study how hyphal fusion and nuclear mixing counteract segregation to stabilize the symbiosis. The research program has great potential for novel discoveries of fundamental importance to evolutionary and environmental biology and will also contribute to agricultural practice and management of terrestrial ecosystems.
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 biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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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.
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.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
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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.
(opens in new window) ERC-2015-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
751 05 Uppsala
Sweden
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