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Comparative HaplotypOmics of Parthenogenetic Plectus nEmatodes

Project description

Haplotype genome assemblies and emergence of parthenogenesis

All species of roundworm genus Plectus reproduce exclusively asexually. How they lost their ability to reproduce sexually is unknown. Hybridisation between species, in which alleles from sexually reproducing species integrated into a closely related species, is one possibility, perhaps an adaptation to extreme environments. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CHOPPE project aims to investigate this. It will generate chromosome-level collapsed genome assemblies for several species of Plectus and its closest sexual relative Anaplectus from diverse habitats. New computational methods will generate fully phased haplotype assemblies (genes inherited from a single parent). The collapsed and haplotype assemblies could reveal the genomic basis of adaptation to extreme environments via parthenogenesis.

Objective

Sexual reproduction is a costly but seemingly necessary trait in animals. However, species in diverse branches of the animal kingdom have secondarily reverted to asexual reproduction. In the roundworms (phylum Nematoda), this reversal appears particularly frequent, as parthenogenetic species have emerged in numerous genera. Species in the genus Plectus are obligately parthenogenetic, and are distributed in non-extreme and extreme environments across the globe. Mechanisms leading to the loss of sex, for example hybridisation, have received some attention, but are still poorly understood, in particular on the genomic level. This is in part due to the lack of sequencing and analysis tools for complex genomes of minute organisms.
CHOPPE will generate chromosome-level collapsed and phased genome assemblies using latest assembly strategies for several species of Plectus and its closest sexual relative Anaplectus from diverse habitats. CHOPPE will develop new computational methods for generating fully phased assemblies of diverse non-model species. Collapsed assemblies, and haplotype assemblies of several Plectus and Anaplectus species generated in the project, will allow to decipher the genomic basis of their adaption in the context of parthenogenesis and extreme environments. The project will further investigate the reversal to sexuality of Plectus through crossing with heat induced males, and establish this genus as a new model for the study of parthenogenesis.

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITAT ZU KOLN
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 173 847,36
Address
ALBERTUS MAGNUS PLATZ
50931 KOLN
Germany

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Region
Nordrhein-Westfalen Köln Köln, Kreisfreie Stadt
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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