Project description
Ancient DNA elucidates evolutionary response to new selection pressure
DNA sequencing from ancient temporally spaced samples helps to answer questions about evolutionary responses to ecological changes and novel selection pressures, by quantifying ecological and genetic parameters collected along the changes line. Exploiting natural experiments and well-known study systems in evolution, the EU-funded EXPLOAD project will investigate parallel adaptation to freshwater of marine threespine stickleback through the rise in frequency of freshwater-associated alleles. The rapid ongoing global climate changes represent new selection pressures, and the study of natural selection dynamics will provide insights into the potential fate of biodiversity. Application of the palaeogenomics approach to samples, collected along the evolutionary continuum, will address the question of whether there is a mutational cost to natural selection.
Objective
DNA can survive millennia post-mortem, spanning ecological and evolutionary transitions and providing a unique window into the processes underlying biodiversity. As such sequencing ancient DNA from temporally spaced samples can allow the testing of hypotheses related to evolutionary responses to ecological change and novel selection pressures through direct quantification of ecological and genetic parameters collected before, during and after genetic changes in selection pressures. Here, I propose to do just this, taking advantage of a natural experiment of an emblematic study system in evolutionary biology: parallel independent adaptation to freshwater by marine-adapted threespine sticklebacks through the rise in frequency of freshwater-associated alleles. Utilising palaeogenomics to sample genomes along this evolutionary continuum and the project will address a key and long-standing question: is there a mutational cost to natural selection? This is a timely question, as ongoing rapid global climatic change is a major source of novel selection pressures, therefore, understanding the dynamics of natural selection will provide key insights into potential outcomes for biodiversity. The methods developed in this project will not only benefit the growing field of paleogenomics but also other fields where data is collected in a temporal manner, such as experimental evolution and epidemiology. Ultimately, achievement of these goals requires the formation of a dedicated, closely knit team, focusing on both the methodological challenges as well as their bigger picture application to high-risk high-gain ventures. With ERC funding this can become a reality, enabling the interface of palaeogenomics and evolutionary biology to be pushed to the new limits of the modern sequencing era.
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.
- social sciences sociology demography
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- 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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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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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
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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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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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) ERC-2021-COG
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0313 Oslo
Norway
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