Project description
New tools to analyse genomic data
Advances in DNA sequencing – the genetic instructions that guide how living organisms grow and function – offer a huge amount of genetic data, yet researchers lack the tools to analyse this data. A key issue is determining whether genetic differences between groups are caused by natural selection (e.g. traits evolving to adapt to the environment) or by population structure (e.g. groups being isolated and not mixing genes). The ERC-funded GenesInSpace project will create new mathematical and computational methods to study how traits are influenced by selection and distribution of populations across continuous space. The goal is to improve tools such as genome-wide association studies that are used to link genes to traits, making them more accurate and useful for medicine, agriculture, and conservation.
Objective
Rapid advances in sequencing are making an unprecedented amount of genomic data available from diverse organisms. However, theoretical and statistical frameworks for analysing sequences lag far behind, yet are crucial for identifying functionally important regions of the genome and predicting their contributions to key traits, e.g. disease risk in humans, yield in crops and environmental maladaptation in endangered populations. While numerous tools of genomic prediction, notably Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS), have been developed in recent years, a common and unsolved challenge is to disentangle the effects of different evolutionary processes on genomic variation. In particular, genetic differences between groups of individuals may reflect either natural selection (typically on highly polygenic traits) or spatial population structure (i.e. limited exchange of individuals and genes between geographically distant groups) or both. Moreover, both selection and population structure generate correlations along the genome, making it difficult to pinpoint individual genetic variants that affect traits. To address these challenges, we will develop new theory (based on mathematical analysis and computation) to understand polygenic adaptation across space, focusing on how sequence variation is shaped by: (i) the genetic architecture of selected traits i.e. the numbers, effects and genomic distribution of variants influencing a trait (Aim 1), and (ii) and the spatial distribution of populations (Aim 2). We will build upon this to investigate if/how selection and population structure can be disentangled in GWAS, and how selection affects the power of GWAS and the portability of GWAS findings across different populations (Aim 3). Such theory is essential and timely- both for understanding fundamental evolutionary questions as well as harnessing the full potential of genomics and GWAS for personalised medicine, agriculture and conservation.
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.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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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.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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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.
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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.
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-COG
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1010 WIEN
Austria
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