Objective
"Antagonistic coevolution between hosts and parasites has far-reaching consequences for evolutionary ecology, agriculture and medicine. Coevolution between bacteria and virulent phages is likely to be of particularly broad significance because of the ubiquity of phages, the key role played by bacteria in ecosystem functioning, and the therapeutic use of phages as ‘evolving’ antibiotics, in both clinical and agricultural contexts. Despite the far-reaching consequences of bacteria-phage coevolution in laboratory populations, we know virtually nothing about its operation and significance in natural ecosystems. Two complimentary approaches will be taken in order to increase our understanding of evolutionary maintenance of bacteria and phages in soil, and coevolutionary dynamics within communities in natural environments. First, I will determine the significance of coevolution for driving the within-population diversity of the focal bacteria population, and in turn how changes in the focal bacterial population affects community composition, at both phenotypic and genetic levels (Objective 1). In addition, I will assess the impact of coevolution on the evolution of bacteria mutation rate, and whether phages can select for increased mutation rates in soil environments (Objective 2). Furthermore, I will determine the extent to which natural selection acts on bacterial cooperative in soil, and how these are affected by phages (Objective 3). I will also assess the impact of some ecologically relevant manipulations on the rate of coevolution (Objective 4). The second approach will allow entirely natural communities to be studied. I will directly measure coevolution between natural populations of Pseudomonas-like bacteria and associated phages in soil, by measuring interactions across time (Objective 5). This proposal will provide a crucial understanding of the role of the phages in driving ecological and evolutionary changes of bacteria in soil environments."
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 microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology evolutionary ecology
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-2010-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
EX4 4QJ Exeter
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.