Objective
All organisms have to maintain great phenotypic stability (robustness) in the face of numerous changes in their internal and external environment. However, despite its universal significance, it is far from clear how development has evolved to ensure a stable and reproducible phenotype when development is perturbed. To gain a better understanding of the mechanisms providing robustness, we will examine the developmental mechanisms underlying the expression of an invariant and reproducible phenotype.
As a study system, we will focus on the well-characterised process of vulval cell fate specification in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This cell patterning process is controlled by a network of tightly regulated and partially redundant signalling pathways. T he functional significance of these mechanisms is not fully understood, yet their properties, such as redundancy, may act to maintain a correct vulva phenotype when development is perturbed. We will test this idea by studying vulva formation in different environmental conditions and in genetically distinct strains of C elegans.
We will test whether pathway activation is differentially regulated in a context-dependent fashion, and examine how such a differential regulation corresponds to changes in the precision of the vulval patterning process. If different conditions alter the use of developmental mechanisms while maintaining precision of the vulva pattern, this would indicate that development exhibits flexibility, which serves to maintain phenotypic stability. This project will examine the effects of environmental and genetic variation on a complex developmental process.
Our results will shed light on the interplay between developmental flexibility and phenotypic robustness, and how this relationship has evolved. Understanding how environmental and genetic variation modulates development is essential to understand the evolution and functional significance of its underlying genetic architecture.
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 developmental biology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
FP6-2002-MOBILITY-5
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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.
Coordinator
PARIS
France
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.