Project description
Structural genomic variants in ecology, evolution and biodiversity
In a time of global change, genetic diversity is a critical level of biodiversity, providing species with variation, persistence and improved adaptation to rapidly changing environments. Unfortunately, despite the importance of variation in the presence and arrangement of DNA sequences called structural variants (SVs), this aspect of genetic diversity has remained overlooked in recent years. The ERC-funded EVOL-SV project will research and reassess the genomic basis of eco-evolutionary processes, examining the impact of SVs on parallel adaptation to environment and determining their role in current biodiversity. The project will use state-of-the-art genomics, experimental approaches and multidisciplinary research on the focal system of Coelopa seaweed flies, followed by a broader examination across the tree of life.
Objective
Genetic diversity is a fundamental level of biodiversity at a time of global change. It provides variation that underpins species persistence and their adaptation to changing environments. Variation in the direction or presence of DNA sequences has been largely overlooked until now. Yet, those structural variants (SVs) represent a key aspect of genetic diversity. SVs cover 3 to 10 times more of the genome than the well-studied single-nucleotide variants and have different properties (length, effect on recombination, mutation rate). Structural variation thus represents a quantitative and qualitative shift in our understanding of genetic diversity, with predicted, but understudied, implications for evolution.
The project EVOL-SV calls for a reassessment of the genomic basis of eco-evolutionary processes. My ambition is to lead new research avenues on the impact of SVs in ecology and evolution and to determine the contribution of SVs to current biodiversity. I will combine cutting-edge genomics and powerful experimental approaches, developed throughout my career, to perform multidisciplinary research on a focal system, Coelopa flies, and then across taxa.
First, I will investigate SVs within a population genetic framework in Coelopa spp. to determine how SV properties affect their distribution and effects on fitness. Second, I will assess the contribution of SVs to deleterious load in a case of range shift northwards. Third, I will examine how SVs contribute to phenotypic adaptation, focusing on parallel climatic gradients and rapid thermal variation. Fourth, at a broader phylogenetic level, I will draw general principles about the evolution of structural genetic diversity.
EVOL-SV will have long-term impacts by providing the first comprehensive assessment of structural genetic diversity across the tree of life, developing the study of SVs in non-model species, and determining how genetic architecture contributes to evolutionary response in a rapidly changing world.
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 genetics DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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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)
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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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(opens in new window) ERC-2023-STG
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75794 Paris
France
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