Objective
Endosymbiosis merges organisms and leads to evolutionary innovation. Hence endosymbiotic interactions play key roles in ecosystems and have shaped eukaryotic evolution, e.g. the formation of mitochondria and chloroplast organelles. The evolution of endosymbioses entails two key transitions: the transition from free-living to endosymbiont and from endosymbiont to organelle. These critical phases are difficult to study because extant relationships are often highly derived, and thus substantial knowledge gaps exist.
Recent advances in technology make it now possible to employ valuable, but previously underutilised, protist systems in endosymbiosis research. This proposal will exploit the transitional nature of two protists: Paulinella chromatophora and the Paramecium bursaria–Chlorella association. First, I will combine partner-preference tests and single-cell approaches to study the mechanistic processes within an individual as it becomes endosymbiotic. Second, I will characterise metabolic integration during early-stage organelle formation using cutting-edge chemical imaging alongside a long-term evolution experiment. Finally, a year-long field survey will discover how changing environmental conditions influence the success of these partnerships in situ. My unique skillset of evolution experiments, single-cell genomics, metabolomics, and culturing these protists makes this ambitious proposal feasible.
This project leverages transitional protists and pairs them with a powerful array of techniques to tackle fundamental questions underlying the key transitions within endosymbiosis. This original combination is at the forefront of endosymbiosis and plastid research. When completed, this proposal will provide unprecedented detail of the molecular mechanisms underpinning these transitions. As such it will fundamentally shift our perspective towards viewing these transitions as a gradient of processes rather than binary states, and will open up avenues for future research.
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 genetics
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
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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)
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-2025-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.
1010 Wien
Austria
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.