Project description
Terrestrial phycospheres: exploring nature’s surprising symbiotic partnerships
Phycospheres are microenvironments created by the symbiotic relationship between photosynthetic organisms and their host organisms. Although these interactions have been extensively studied in aquatic environments, terrestrial phycospheres remain poorly explored. The ERC-funded PHYCOSPHERES project will employ a newly developed reductionist host-microbiota system to study the structure and functions of terrestrial phycospheres and identify the core ecological principles accounting for the overlap between the root and phycosphere microbiota. Using various gnotobiotic plants and synthetic communities composed of phycosphere bacteria, researchers will study the genetic and molecular mechanisms that drive host-microbiota interactions in the alga species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Exploring the intricate relationships in terrestrial phycospheres could inspire innovative applications in agriculture.
Objective
Microscopic algae release organic compounds to the region immediately surrounding their cells, known as the phycosphere, constituting a niche for colonization by heterotrophic bacteria. These bacteria consume algal photoassimilates and provide beneficial functions to their host, in a process that resembles the establishment of microbial communities associated with the roots and rhizospheres of land plants. Phycosphere communities have been well studied in aquatic environments, where they are known to play important roles in nutrient and energy fluxes. For many species of algae, interactions with their associated phycosphere bacteria can also provide beneficial functions, often mediated by metabolic exchanges. Despite the known importance of these associations in aquatic environments, their role in terrestrial ecosystems and parallels with the root microbiota of land plants have not yet been resolved.
The goal of this project is to employ a newly developed reductionist host-microbiota system based on the model chlorophyte alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to study the structure and functions of terrestrial phycospheres and identify the core ecological principles that explain the overlap between the root and phycosphere microbiota. Using a variety of gnotobiotic systems and synthetic communities composed of phycosphere bacteria, we will study the genetic and molecular mechanisms that drive host-microbiota interactions in C. reinhardtii and as well as their evolutionary origins and conservation in other lineages of green algae and land plants. Finally, we will design and build synthetic phototrophic microcosms based on terrestrial phycospheres using bioreactors to explore the ecological and molecular mechanisms underpinning microbiota diversity, stability and functions. This project has the potential to reveal fundamental, quantitative principles governing the dynamic behaviour of host-associated microbial communities.
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.
- engineering and technology environmental biotechnology bioremediation bioreactors
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology phycology
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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.
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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-2022-STG
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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.
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany
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