Projektbeschreibung
Ursprung der Plastiden: fehlende Puzzleteile finden
Plastiden sind wichtige membrangebundene Organellen, die in Pflanzen und Algen vorkommen. Sie entwickelten sich zu spezialisierten Funktionen, einschließlich der Photosynthese. Ihr Ursprung führte zu den ersten eukaryotischen Algen und anschließend zu allen photosynthetischen Eukaryoten. Trotz ihrer wesentlichen Rolle in der Evolution des eukaryotischen Lebens sind ihre Ursprünge immer noch ungewiss. Das EU-finanzierte Projekt PlastidOrigin wird diese wichtige offene Frage mit Hightech-Ansätzen beleuchten, die sich auf neue Schlüssellinien im Zusammenhang mit Primäralgen konzentrieren. Das Team wird insbesondere entscheidend fehlende Sequenzdaten und Plastidenproteome erstellen, um eine umfassende vergleichende Analyse zu ermöglichen.
Ziel
Photosynthesis was acquired by eukaryotes through endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria, which resulted in new cellular organelles: the plastids. From the origin of plastids evolved the first eukaryotic algae, giving rise to land plants but also triggering the evolution of most photosynthetic eukaryotes by subsequent endosymbioses between these first algae and other eukaryotes. Thus, the origin of plastids profoundly changed the course of eukaryotic life by being the launching point that shaped the biological diversity of most primary producers. Despite this importance, our understanding of how plastids originated remains largely uncertain. The current paradigm describes this transformative event as a single primary endosymbiosis, but I argue here that critical data is lacking, notably from the vast hidden environmental diversity of microbes, to adequately test this hypothesis. In this project, I propose to gain insight into the origin of plastids by addressing the main questions: 1) What is the currently hidden diversity of high-ranked taxa related to primary photosynthetic lineages? 2) What are the feeding behaviors of these taxa and are they aplastidic? 3) Are some lineages genetically predisposed to establish plastids from the acquisition of foreign genes? 4) What was the composition, size, and origin of the ancestral primary plastid proteomes? To answer these questions, I will link third generation environmental sequencing, transcriptomics, and genomics to cell structure and behavior of novel key lineages related to primary algae, and produce crucially missing plastid proteomes to allow comprehensive comparative proteomic analysis. My project will not only have immediate implications on our understanding of the origin of plastids and more generally the fundamental process of endosymbiosis, but the approaches developed will be a test bed for future global studies aimed at understanding the evolution and ecology of the microbial majority of complex life.
Wissenschaftliches Gebiet
Programm/Programme
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Thema/Themen
Finanzierungsplan
HORIZON-AG - HORIZON Action Grant Budget-BasedGastgebende Einrichtung
751 05 Uppsala
Schweden