Objective
It is increasingly apparent that ancestral environmental conditions can affect phenotypes of future generations. A great deal of evidence shows that parental exposures – from social defeat to dietary stresses – can have significant effects on metabolism and behavior in children. In rodents, we and others have shown that paternal exposures can affect offspring physiology, and male germline effects have been reported in humans as well. That said, despite a large and growing literature documenting various exposure effects on the sperm epigenome, the mechanistic basis by which paternal experiences are transmitted to the next generation remains unclear.
Here, we seek first to address the question of how paternal experiences control the molecular contents of sperm. Answering this mystery is essential for understanding why some exposures impact offspring traits, while others do not. In other words, we seek to define the tissues responsible for “choosing” environmental conditions – presumably those with predictive value regarding future environments – about which to inform offspring. We interrogate a novel genetic effects system for intercellular control of the small RNA payload in sperm (1.1) and develop specific ligand-receptor perturbations to enable genetic dissection of the role of nutrient signalling in modulating the sperm epigenome (1.2).
Second, we propose to define the functions of the sperm epigenome in control of early development. Sperm carry an unusual small RNA payload comprised primarily of tRNA halves, an emerging but understudied class of regulatory RNAs. We will systematically identify the proteins and RNAs that interact with tRNA fragments in culture systems (2.1) and manipulate tRNA fragments in embryos to determine their functions in early development (2.2).
Throughout these aims we leverage our expertise in systems biology, genomics, reproductive biology, and embryology to identify the molecular basis for paternal effects on future generations.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics epigenetics epigenomes
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine embryology
- natural sciences biological sciences reproductive biology
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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)
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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.
Funding Scheme
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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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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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-2025-ADG
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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.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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