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Climate impacts on diatom genomes over micro- and macroevolutionary timescales

Objective

Diatoms are a group of highly diverse, globally dominant microalgae which contribute significantly to global carbon fixation and biogeochemical cycling. Understanding how diatoms adapt to changes in their environment is therefore a major research interest. However, whereas the phenotypic outcomes of adaptation have received considerable attention, we understand little about the genomic underpinnings of evolution and adaptation in diatoms. Within DIADAPT, I will investigate the genomic processes that underlie adaptation to climate shifts in diatoms. To this end, I will focus on two evolutionary radiations of non-model diatoms that are characterized by the repeated colonization of different climate zones throughout their evolutionary history, yet that played out in different ecological conditions: the aquatic and terrestrial realm. Comparative analyses of genomes and transcriptomes obtained from taxa that inhabit polar, temperate, or tropical regions will be complemented with experimental evolution. As such, I will investigate the roles of both genome and gene expression evolution in climate-driven adaptation over macro- and microevolutionary timescales, thus capturing different stages of the adaptation process. By implementing DIADAPT within a robust phylogenetic framework and contrasting the two evolutionary radiations, I will (i) formulate general insights into the genomic basis of climate-driven adaptation in diatoms, (ii) reveal the degree of divergence and repeated evolution in adaptive solutions, and (iii) discern if and how adaptation is constrained by evolutionary history, including differences in ecology, population size, and historical patterns of climate zone transitions. Altogether, the integration of macro- and microevolutionary approaches on the scale of genome and gene expression divergence will generate a deep understanding of climate-driven adaptation in a keystone microbial lineage on an unprecedented geographic and taxonomic scale.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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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-2024-STG

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Host institution

UNIVERSITEIT GENT
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.

€ 1 500 000,00
Address
SINT PIETERSNIEUWSTRAAT 25
9000 GENT
Belgium

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Region
Vlaams Gewest Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen Arr. Gent
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.

€ 1 500 000,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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