Project description
Community composition and function at the single-species level
How can a community be formed from a candidate species list to optimise a target function? This critical question in synthetic microbial ecology is essential for designing multi-species consortia in biotechnology. Unfortunately, an empirical solution is impractical due to the vast number of possible combinations. In this context, the ERC-funded ECOPROSPECTOR project will integrate concepts from Evolutionary Systems Biology and Fitness Landscapes to investigate community composition and function at the single-species level. Using a simple mathematical model, the project will quantify how adding a species affects community function. It will focus on a model system of 100 starch-degrading soil bacteria, mapping the relationships between community composition and starch hydrolysis optimisation.
Objective
Given a list of candidate species, which community should one form to optimize a target function? Answering this fundamental ecological question is particularly urgent in the emerging field of synthetic microbial ecology, where it would dramatically improve our ability to design multi-species consortia for biotechnological applications. An empirical solution is out of reach, due to the astronomical number of possibilities: one could form ~1E30 possible assemblages from just 100 species. To provide a solution, ECOPROSPECTOR will borrow state-of-the-art ideas from Evolutionary Systems Biology and the theory of Fitness Landscapes, where similarly vast combinatorial spaces must be explored to find optimal sequences (peaks) in a genotype-phenotype map. This will result in a new and groundbreaking theoretical paradigm to map community composition and function in large communities at the single-species level.
My proposal is motivated by exciting preliminary results revealing an ecological parallel to the emerging evolutionary concept of global epistasis: the functional effect of adding a species to a community can be predicted by a simple mathematical relationship. I will start by characterizing these relationships in a model empirical system consisting of 100 starch-degrading soil bacteria. I will then use machine learning to reconstruct and navigate the full combinatorial landscape between community composition and function, in search of communities that optimize the rate of starch hydrolysis. Through genetic and environmental manipulations and mathematical modeling, I will then mechanistically explain the emergence of those predictive equations and causally link them with species traits. Besides solving a problem of critical practical importance, the theoretical paradigm emerging from this work will unify quantitative research in ecology and evolution, providing unique opportunities for cross-pollination across fields.
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 microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology microbiomes
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.
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.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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) ERC-2022-COG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
28006 MADRID
Spain
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.