Project description
Adaptation of natural populations to pesticides
The use of pesticides in agriculture is common practice, but little is known about the long-term effects it has on off-target species such as freshwater zooplankton. The EU-funded MultiOmicsTox project aims to investigate how the prolonged presence of chemicals in the environment for many generations alters the genetic variation and affects molecular evolution. Researchers will study the evolution of Daphnia over a period of 120 years and link molecular changes with pesticide exposure. This will provide important insight into the true susceptibility of populations to pesticides and their adaptive responses. Long term, the generated information will support the formulation of appropriate health and environmental policies.
Objective
My project proposes to understand what genetic and functional genomic variation contribute to the process of adaptation and to the evolutionary fate of natural populations when confronted with modern threats, such as multi-generational exposure to a chemical pollutant in the environment. The current environmental health policies and regulatory decisions are based on ad hoc methods and do not reflect true population susceptibility. My solution is to apply multi-view machine learning, combined with quantitative genetics, to analyse a huge volume of multi-omics data to advance Precision Toxicology that brings greater certainty in the causal links between chemicals and their adverse effects. My project focuses on the multi-generational effect of pesticides in shaping genetic variation and the molecular evolutionary trajectory of Daphnia obtained from resurrected subpopulations from within dated lake sediments spanning 120 years. The adaptive phenotypes at different doses of pesticides were scored in common garden experiments and samples were taken to produce associated multi-omics data (genomes, transcriptomes, regulomes and metabolomes). I propose utilizing this data to meet the following two objectives:(1) To use quantitative genetics for the determination of genetic susceptibility of the subpopulation to pesticide exposure; (2) To identify the mechanisms and forms of evolution that result in adaptation, by integrating multi-omics data using multi-view machine learning. Expected outcomes of this work will (a) fill a gap in mechanistic understanding of the adaptive responses of natural populations, (b) identify segregating genetic variation within genomes that regulates the pace and magnitude of an adaptive response to chemical pollutants, and (c) discover putative biomarkers that estimate exposure-related genetic susceptibility of populations to the multi-generational harmful effects of chemicals for setting site-specific controls on chemical pollutants.
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.
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence machine learning
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
- medical and health sciences basic medicine toxicology
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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.
B15 2TT Birmingham
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.