Project description DEENESFRITPL Predicting species’ resilience to climate change How resilient are land insects to climate change? How will ants, beetles and spiders, for instance, respond to increases in global temperatures? The EU-funded MATA project seeks to answer these questions. It will investigate the evolutionary pressures that may have shaped physiological traits to enhance thermal tolerance in land insects. The project will explore the mitochondrial adaptations associated with thermophily in insects, inside a consistent study system made of pairs of thermosensitive versus thermotolerant closely related ant species. The focus will be on the mitochondrial electron transfer system involved in respiration. By shedding light on insect thermal biology, MATA will further the study of ecophysiology. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Thermal tolerance is one of the most central traits that, in insects, correlate with distribution. With global temperatures projected to increase worldwide, much effort has been recently put into deciphering the physiological mechanisms constraining heat tolerance plasticity in ectotherms. However, we still know very little on how evolutionary pressures may have shaped physiological traits to enhance thermal tolerance in land insects. This is especially true in the case of mitochondrial functions, which have been repeatedly highlighted as central for ectotherms to survive exposition to non-optimal temperature regimes. Considering this central gap in our knowledge, we propose here to explore the mitochondrial adaptations associated with thermophily in insects, inside a consistent study system made of pairs of thermosensitive versus thermotolerant closely related ant species. Using this phylogenetic framework, we will (I) compare how temperatures affect specific steps along the mitochondrial Electron Transfer System (ETS) involved in respiration, (II) assess the impact of temperatures on mitochondrial ATP and ROS outputs, and (III) track adaptations in membrane composition and metabolic profiling associated with increased mitochondrial resilience to temperatures. Overall, this project thus proposes to explore important yet unanswered aspects of insect thermal biology that is located at the frontier of our current understanding of ecophysiology. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyentomology Keywords Ecophysiology insects insect thermal-biology ants respiration mitochondria metabolism Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2020 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2020 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator AARHUS UNIVERSITET Net EU contribution € 207 312,00 Address NORDRE RINGGADE 1 8000 Aarhus C Denmark See on map Region Danmark Midtjylland Østjylland Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 207 312,00
