Project description
Sponge metabolism adapts to oxygen gradients
As one of the most ancient lineages of crown group animals, which emerged before Earth’s oceans became fully oxygenated, sponges still thrive under low-oxygen conditions by retaining anaerobic metabolic strategies mostly lost in higher animals. Nevertheless, higher animals continue utilising hydrogen sulfide and nitric oxide for signalling and cytoprotection during hypoxia, and these gases are seemingly produced and consumed within the sponge holobiome. Experimental demonstrations of these processes are rare in sponge holobionts; with support from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SpongeMetabOxygen project aims to couple targeted experiments with spatial transcriptomics to understand sponge metabolic behaviour along the oxic-anoxic continuum. This multidisciplinary approach will offer new insights into the evolution of animal life and its resilience in deoxygenating oceans.
Objective
Sponges are considered to be one of the most ancient lineages of metazoans and are believed to have emerged amongst these early branching animal lineages at a time before the oceans became fully oxic around the middle to late Neoproterozoic Era (850-542 Mya). Sponges appear to retain some sort of ancestral memory of the hypoxic milieu from which they evolved and can still tolerate harsh hypoxic or anoxic conditions for relatively long periods. They express specialized anaerobic pathways that have been mostly lost in higher order animals such as fish and mammals, and yet remnants of these pathways persist primarily in the way they use the endogenously generated gases hydrogen sulfide and nitric oxide (NO) as signaling molecules for cellular homeostasis or as key players in cytoprotection during periods of hypoxic stress. Extensive sequencing of sponge microbiomes has primarily demonstrated the ubiquitous presence and expression of sponge symbiome pathways involved in NO generation via ammonia-oxidation and denitrification as well as the oxidation of reduced sulfur compounds, hinting at an active anaerobic lifestyle within sponges. Experimental demonstrations of these processes are rare in sponge holobionts and lacking in sponges sensu stricto who also express the relevant anerobic energy metabolisms. I will thus aim to demonstrate, disentangle, and integrate sponge holobiont metabolisms along the oxic-anoxic continuum by combining my expertise in sponge holobiont biogeochemistry and metabolic pathways with the expertise of the host in sponge physiology, nano-oxic O2 measurements at multiple spatial scales and dimensions, and advanced bioimaging techniques. The proposed multimethod and interdisciplinary study will thus provide an unprecedented view of sponge holobiont metabolism at the thermodynamic limit of animal life thereby providing further insights into higher animal responses to hypoxia and the future of animal life on a planet experiencing ocean deoxygenation.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
- natural sciences biological sciences marine biology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology cell metabolism
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology evolutionary ecology
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
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-2024-PF-01
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5230 Odense M
Denmark
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