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 natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsDNAnatural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsmutationnatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsgenomes Keywords Biological diversity Adaptation Genetic diversity Structural variants Climate change Programme(s) HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2023-STG - ERC STARTING GRANTS Call for proposal ERC-2023-STG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants Host institution CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS Net EU contribution € 1 499 998,75 Address RUE MICHEL ANGE 3 75794 Paris France See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 499 998,75 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS France Net EU contribution € 1 499 998,75 Address RUE MICHEL ANGE 3 75794 Paris See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 499 998,75
