Project description
Insight into the adaptive evolution of marine organisms in response to environmental changes
The three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is an important model organism for evolutionary biologists researching the genetic changes involved in adapting to new environments. The EU-funded EPI-TRADEOFF project will use G. aculeatus from the Baltic Sea to study the change in ocean salinity and the associated alteration in the parasite community resulting from climate change. The initiative will identify the osmoregulation–immunity trade-offs mediated by DNA methylation to shed light on the interactions of methylation within gene clusters as well as their expression. The data generated will be used to test the introduction of trade-offs by both infection and salinity changes in G. aculeatus, increasing our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying phenotypic plasticity in marine organisms and their influence on adaptive evolution.
Objective
Climate change and its consequences on the oceans represent major challenges for marine species, which either need to migrate to remain in their optimal niche or need to adapt to avoid extinction. While the genetics and genomics of adaptation are well studied to predict the future state of marine biodiversity, major gaps remain about the role and mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity within and across generations. Particularly, climate change is multifold and non-parallel stressors limit evolution: indeed, organisms cannot allocate infinite resources into all responses, and trade-offs therefore emerge. Because stressors are often investigated in isolation, our overall understanding of molecular trade-offs is limited. In this project, we will study the impact of two major concomitant challenges induced by climate change, namely the change in ocean salinity and the associated change in the parasite community. We will use the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) fish from the Baltic Sea, which has been coined a “time machine” because of its rapid salinity change mimicking the future of the oceans. We will investigate the osmoregulation-immunity trade-offs mediated by DNA methylation. After identifying these trade-offs, we will use a network approach to shed lights on the interactions of methylation within gene clusters, and their expression (RNA-seq). We will use data generated by the hosting group on (1) natural populations of the Baltic Sea and (2) experimental acclimation to salinity, completed by a common garden experiment testing the induction of trade-offs by both parasite infection and salinity change. This project will advance our understanding of the mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity in marine organisms and their consequences on adaptive 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.
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 marine biology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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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.
E1 4NS LONDON
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.