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Evolution of the genetic architecture of quantitative traits

Project description

Tracing evolutionary paths of quantitative traits

Phenotypic traits such as height and weight that can be measured showing a continuous distribution of phenotypes rather than discrete categories are called quantitative traits. As they are influenced by multiple genes, understanding and predicting the evolution of quantitative traits is challenging. Funded by the European Research Council, the EvoGenArch project will focus on the genetic architecture, understood as the statistical distribution of gene effects on the phenotype. Researchers will develop new statistical methodologies to infer genetic architecture accurately and link it with evolution, focusing on lizards. Results will enhance our ability to predict phenotype and adaptation from genomic data.

Objective

A major challenge in evolutionary biology is to understand and predict the evolution of phenotypic traits influenced by many genes, a.k.a. quantitative traits, which represent the majority of adaptive traits. For this, we require an accurate knowledge of the genetic architecture of a trait, here defined as the statistical distribution of the effects of the genes on the phenotype. However, it has not been possible to firmly check theoretical predictions against empirical data, due to a lack of method to accurately infer genetic architecture.

In this project, I will develop novel statistical methodology to accurately infer the genetic architecture of traits in the wild, by leveraging the statistical correlation between neighbouring sites in the genome, or linkage disequilibrium. Using the power of a new linked-read sequencing to obtain information on recombination, I will apply this novel methodology to study the link between the genetic architecture of the traits, and the evolutionary regime, i.e. characteristics of selective and neutral factors. First, I will perform an in-depth study of the link between selection and genetic architecture on a long-term-studied wild population of common lizards. Second, I will apply my method to analogous traits across more than 20 species to infer their genetic architecture and use knowledge about the evolutionary regime and phylogenetic context, to assess the influence of those components on the variation in genetic architecture.

By combining novel methodology with analysis within and across species, this project will provide a firm empirical basis for thinking about genetic architecture. In turn, this understanding of the expected distribution of the gene effects, depending on the evolutionary context, will improve our ability to forecast adaptation, predict phenotype from genomic data and locate genes in diverse fields such as evolution, agronomy, conservation and human health.

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HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2023-STG

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Host institution

ECOLE PRATIQUE DES HAUTES ETUDES
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.

€ 1 443 750,00
Address
RUE FERRUS 4-14
75014 Paris
France

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Region
Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

€ 1 443 750,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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