Objective
Predation plays a key role in the planet’s ecology and evolution. The most prevalent and diverse predators on the planet are protozoans, single-cell eukaryotes that live from consuming bacterial prey. Protozoan predation massively impacts bacterial diversity, shapes microbial ecosystems, is essential for nutrient cycling and has been linked to the emergence of bacterial virulence. Yet, despite its importance, it remains largely elusive how protozoan predators and bacterial prey coevolve. To understand this coevolution, we need an integrative research approach that accounts for offense and defense mechanisms in both predator and prey, and spans from cellular response systems to community ecology.
Here, I take this approach, and present the first integrative research program on microbial predator-prey coevolution. By leveraging recent advances in gene editing and single-cell phenotyping, we will focus on the coevolution between amoebal predators and bacterial prey in the soil – a hotspot for microbial predation. First, we will establish a predator-prey model system that permits a two-sided and systems-level analysis of predation. Using genome-wide genetic screens, we will identify all genes underlying offense and defense mechanisms, study how they exert their effect, how they are regulated, and how they impact selection across environments. Second, we will expand from our model system, to study natural predator-prey soil communities. We will explore how sexual reproduction and horizontal gene transfer impact coevolution, and emulate soil conditions in the lab, to determine how biotic and abiotic factors affect eco-evolutionary dynamics of predator-prey communities in both time and space.
My research will connect ecology and evolution with molecular and systems biology, opening up the door for breakthrough advances in our understanding of predator-prey interfaces, the impact of coevolution on microbial ecosystems, and the emergence of nascent pathogenicity.
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 evolutionary biology
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
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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.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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
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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-2023-STG
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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.
69117 Heidelberg
Germany
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.