Project description DEENESFRITPL Impact of nutrient availability and composition on phytoplankton genomics and evolution Phytoplankton are primary producers and the base of the aquatic food web. They transform inorganic nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus into organic macromolecules. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the INGENE project aims to study the impact of nutrients on the genomic structure and evolution of phytoplankton. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, combining laboratory experiments, genomics, bioinformatics and mathematical modelling, the project will employ ecologically important eukaryotic picoalgae as a phytoplankton model to characterise the physiological responses that define the uptake and utilisation of phosphorus, and evaluate the impact of nitrogen and phosphorus availability on genetic architecture, genome evolution and phenotypic physiological traits. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Phytoplankton support half of global primary production, fuel aquatic food webs, and drive global biogeochemical cycles. Phytoplankton transform inorganic nutrients into organic macromolecules. There is often a mismatch between the environmental availability of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and organismal requirements, which makes N and P important environmental stressors. These selective pressures affect genetic architecture and genome evolution in two ways, first as nucleic acids code for the genes responsible for nutrient uptake and second as they determine the N and P somatic requirements by defining the amino acids and nucleotides used to build proteins and RNA. The objective of INGENE is to estimate the impact of nutrients on the genomic structure and evolution of phytoplankton by following an interdisciplinary approach that combines laboratory experiments, genomics, bioinformatic analyses, and mathematical tools using ecologically important eukaryotic picoalgae as model phytoplankton organisms. Specifically, I will address the following sub-objectives: i) characterize the physiological traits and acclimation responses that define the uptake and use of P, ii) evaluate the impact of N and P availability on genetic architecture and genome evolution, iii) determine the effect of P availability on the whole genome mutation rate and spectrum, and iv) assess the links between genetic architecture and phenotypic physiological traits. Since eukaryotic picoalgae are the smallest known eukaryotic organisms, INGENE is poised to provide novel insights into our understanding of the minimal eukaryotic cellular structure. Moreover, by disentangling the effects of nutrient availability on phytoplankton at the molecular level, INGENE will improve our mechanistic understanding of the effect of nutrients on phytoplankton communities. This is particularly important to parametrize global models of the current global change scenario that is altering nutrient levels in the oceans. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesnucleic acidsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsnucleotidesnatural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsRNAnatural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryaminesnatural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsgenomes Keywords Phytoplankton picoalgae stoichiogenomics nutrient uptake traits acclimation nutrient requirements gene expression mutation rate 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 CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS Net EU contribution € 196 707,84 Address RUE MICHEL ANGE 3 75794 Paris France See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Research Organisations 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 € 196 707,84