Project description
Brain evolution
Vertebrates appear on fossil records more than 500 million years old, and the invertebrate–vertebrate divide is a fundamental biological event. One of the vertebrate novelties was the differentiated brain, which continued to evolve among different lineages. The key objective of the EU-funded VerteBrain project is to investigate how cells in the vertebrate brain have evolved and diverged over the years. Researchers will undertake extensive transcriptomic and epigenetic analysis of single cells to determine the molecular changes that have taken place during evolution. Moreover, they will focus on different vertebrate structures that are associated with cognition.
Objective
"The question of how new organs originate and evolve is fundamental to understanding the evolution of complex animals. Recent single-cell genomics technologies permit detailed investigations of the evolutionary ""birth"" of organs and constituent cell types. Here, we will scrutinize the origins and cellular evolution of the vertebrate brain by generating and analyzing extensive single-cell transcriptomic, epigenomic, and spatial transcriptomic data across species representing all major vertebrate lineages. The project has three interlaced aims:
In Aim 1, we will infer the cell type repertoire of the ancestral vertebrate brain and its regulatory and molecular foundations, by comparing single-cell data across the most diverged vertebrate species.
In Aim 2, we will trace the cell type diversification of the ancestral brain during evolution and underlying regulatory and molecular changes. We will first investigate the origination of two key cell types (oligodendrocytes and Purkinje cells) that underlie the emergence of neuron insulation and the cerebellum, respectively, thus facilitating functional elaborations of the jawed vertebrate brain. We will then compare rates of cellular evolution across brain structures and test the hypothesis that cell type innovation was most frequent in the pallium, which affords advanced cognitive functions and experienced massive structural changes during evolution.
In Aim 3, we will focus on the amniote pallium, a preeminent model for understanding neural tissue diversification. We will scrutinize the origins, development, and evolutionary relationships of cell types in three new structures: neocortex, dorsal ventricular ridge, and Wulst. Two of these structures – the neocortex in mammals and Wulst in birds – facilitated the convergent evolution of advanced cognitive abilities.
Overall, our work will provide an overview of the cellular evolution of the vertebrate brain and, more generally, illuminate principles of cell type 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.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
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-ADG - Advanced 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-2020-ADG
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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.
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.