Objective
"Intensifying droughts, driven by climate change, threaten European soils—critical carbon sinks regulated by microbial communities. The mechanisms governing microbial drought responses remain a major knowledge gap, limiting our ability to predict ecosystem-climate feedbacks. ProMeSD will pioneer environmental meta-epigenomics in soils to test the central hypothesis that past precipitation history creates a ""molecular memory"" via DNA methylation. Specifically, it predicts that microbes in historically drier soils maintain promoter hypomethylation of stress-response genes, predisposing them for rapid transcriptional activation during new drought events. This novel approach moves beyond simple gene inventories to uncover a missing regulatory layer connecting genetic potential to ecosystem function. In a controlled mesocosm experiment using soils from a natural Italian precipitation gradient (500–3,000 mm), ProMeSD will integrate cutting-edge hybrid sequencing (PacBio/Illumina), metatranscriptomics, and biogeochemical assays. The project will (1) build the first metagenome-resolved atlas of soil DNA methylation, (2) link methylation states to stress-gene expression, and (3) connect these molecular patterns to ecosystem functions like carbon use efficiency. This MSCA fellowship unites leading expertise in soil ecology (University of Bologna) and meta-epigenomics (Kunsan National University), ensuring project success. By generating FAIR datasets and transferable workflows, ProMeSD will deliver novel soil health indicators supporting the EU Green Deal and Mission ""A Soil Deal for Europe."" The project's findings have the potential to generate trait-based markers of resilience for integration into microbial-explicit climate models (e.g. MEND, MIMICS), ultimately improving forecasts of soil carbon turnover under future drought scenarios."
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.
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology microbiomes
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
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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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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-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-2025-PF
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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.
40126 Bologna
Italy
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.