Project description
Defensive bacterial symbionts of aphids: mechanisms and interactions
Aphids feed on the sap of a wide variety of host plants including many vegetable crops. They also engage in a symbiotic relationship with bacteria that protect them against parasitic wasps (parasitoids) that reproduce by injecting an egg together with toxic venom into their hosts. When the egg develops to adulthood, the host dies. This relationship has consequences for the biological control of aphid populations. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SymbioDef project aims to reveal how the bacterial symbionts protect against the parasitoids’ venom and the indirect effect this has on the entire community of aphid natural enemies.
Objective
Many animals acquire new abilities after establishing a symbiotic interaction with a microorganism, and the last decades have revealed the prevalence of defensive symbioses between animals and microorganisms. One of the best-studied cases are aphids that engage in a symbiotic relationship with a facultative bacteria that protect them against parasitic wasps (parasitoids). Parasitoids are small wasps that reproduce by injecting an egg as well as toxic venom compounds into their hosts, ultimately killing the host upon parasitoid development to adulthood. Defensive symbionts, however, can challenge this process and reduce parasitism success, a process that can alter the efficiency of biological control programs against aphids. While aphid defensive symbionts have been well studied in the past two decades, there is still no direct evidence of the defensive mechanisms against parasitism. Particularly, the interaction between aphid symbionts and parasitoid venom remains unexplored. In addition, studies have focused on the direct effects of symbionts on parasitoid populations, but complex indirect effects on the entire community of aphid natural enemies have been largely overlooked. In this multidisciplinary project, I propose to fill these gaps in knowledge by 1) unravelling the interaction between parasitoid venom and aphid symbiont protection, 2) investigating the indirect effects of aphid symbionts on the insect community of natural enemies and 3) regrouping these themes in a meta-analysis of the scientific literature to empirically assess the effects of insect microbial warfare. This proposal will advance our fundamental understanding of the effects of aphid symbionts, and it will be of applied interest to improve aphid biocontrol.
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 microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
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Keywords
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)
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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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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-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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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.
75016 PARIS
France
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.