Project description
Decoding the genome of velvet worms
Understanding the diversity of life on Earth depends on decoding genomes across the animal tree. Velvet worms, or Onychophora, are a key missing group in this tree and constitute the closest living relatives of arthropods, which include insects and crustaceans. Despite their importance, their genetic makeup is poorly understood. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the OnyGen project aims to generate a high-quality genome for the velvet worm species Euperipatoides rowelli and use advanced multi-omics approaches to study its biology. Researchers will investigate how its body plan evolved, how genes are organised, and how it produces its unique slime. The findings will shed light on evolution and inspire new biomedical and engineering applications.
Objective
The study of genomes from across the Animal Tree of Life (AToL) stimulates fundamental and applied research across biology, medicine, and engineering. Yet, we are still missing high-quality genome sequences for many branches of the AToL. Onychophora are one of these branches. Also called “velvet worms”, Onychophora are known for their habitat specificity, conserved morphology, and unique prey-capture slime. They are also the closest living relatives to arthropods, a group that is societally important as pollinators, sources of food, disease vectors, and agricultural pests. Due to advances in sequencing and computational abilities, we are in an era where genome sequencing is more accessible than ever. To fully understand the evolution of onychophoran novelties and the evolution of arthropods, it is imperative to obtain a high-quality genome for the emergent model species, Euperipatoides rowelli. Therefore, I propose to sequence a chromosome-level genome of E. rowelli and use a multi-omic approach to explore the origins of onychophoran and arthropod traits. I will determine the genetic and regulatory landscape of onychophoran development to understand the origins of their stable body plan and compare with the complexity of arthropods. By analyzing large-scale genome rearrangements, I will determine if the genes responsible for body patterning are grouped together. These gene clusters are conserved across many animals and likely play a role in the stability of the onychophoran body plan. I will use genome rearrangements as a novel data type to resolve contentious relationships among panarthropod groups. Finally, I will uncover how Onychophora produce their slime, a material with potential engineering and medical applications. By applying cutting-edge techniques to an understudied phylum of animals for the first time I will develop novel resources to facilitate further research into this little understood phylum and open the door for onychophoran genomics.
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 genomes
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
You need to log in or register to use this function
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.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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-2025-PF
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
WC1E 6BT London
United Kingdom
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.