Project description
The molecular innovations behind land plant evolution
The EU-funded EVREP project will investigate the molecular network underlying the reproductive development of land plants to explain the innovations that enabled their evolution and the conquest of new habitats. Researchers have hypothesised that embryo evolution in basal land plants involves cell proliferation and growth following fertilisation and preceding meiosis, which generates the sporophyte, and the specification of a subset of cells as sporogenous cells, which will generate the spores. It has been proposed that the first step involves class I KNOTTED1-like homeobox (KNOX1) genes, and the second, class III homeodomain-leucine zipper (C3HDZ) transcription factors. EVREP will use basal land plants to characterise the role of KNOX1 genes in sporophyte formation; moreover, it will identify regulators of sporogenous formation by identifying C3HDZ targets and determine their role in sporogenous specification.
Objective
Land plants constitute a significant part of the world’s biomass and the human diet. The transition of plants to a land-based habitat led to profound developmental innovations. A major change was the formation of a sexual-based reproductive system. In basal land-plant linages, the haploid-gametophytic phase dominates the life cycle. In later linages the diploid-sporophytic phase took a more prominent role. This switch involved the elaboration of an embryo-based reproductive system. However, there is a significant gap in our understanding of the evolutionary, genetic and developmental mechanisms that enabled the formation of a sexual reproductive system. We hypothesize that embryo evolution entailed two key consecutive events: 1. Cell proliferation and growth following fertilization and prior to meiosis, which generates the sporophyte. 2. Specification of a subset of cells as sporogenous cells, which will generate the spores. Based on published work and recent data from the host lab, we propose that the first step involves class I KNOTTED1-like homeobox (KNOX1), and the second, class III Homeodomain-Leucine Zipper (C3HDZ). In the proposed research, we aim to use the basal land plants to 1. characterize the role of KNOX1 genes in sporophyte formation and 2. Identify regulators of sporogenous formation by identifying C3HDZ targets and determine their role in sporogenous specification. The proposed research is expected to elucidate the molecular network underlying reproductive development of land plants and its evolution. This may unravel basic principles of developmental innovations that enable the evolution of land plants and the conquest of novel habitat. This postdoctoral fellowship will provide me with an opportunity to be trained in the field of evolutionary-developmental biology and to achieve my future goals as an independent scientist.
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 nutrition
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics heredity
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine embryology
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
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)
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
69978 Tel Aviv
Israel
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.