Project description
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.
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 (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 biochemistry biomolecules nucleic acids
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics nucleotides
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry amines
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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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.
75794 PARIS
France
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.