Objective
Corals are foundation species that build reef ecosystems, supporting vast marine biodiversity, yet the cellular mechanisms underlying their extreme longevity remain poorly understood. As colonial, modular organisms, corals are capable of indeterminate size and lifespan, raising fundamental questions about how genome integrity is maintained. In unitary animals, somatic mutations drive age-associated decline and malignancy, but in corals, modularity allows deleterious mutations to be compartmentalized, and beneficial variants to spread or even enter the germline. This challenges canonical germline–soma separation and positions corals as a powerful system to study somatic evolution.
I hypothesize that intra-organismal genetic diversity in corals is shaped by persistent multipotent progenitors, spatial patterning of cell lineages, and turnover dynamics. DNA methylation, a robust biomarker of cellular age and fate, provides an additional layer of information.
I will deploy a multi-pronged genomics strategy: (i) genome and methylome sequencing of spatially mapped samples to respectively infer mutational landscapes and epigenetic aging signatures, (ii) single-cell sequencing to quantify mutational load and transcriptional states, and (iii) integrative computational modeling. This integrative approach will establish how somatic evolution operates in modular animals, linking cellular mechanisms to colony longevity, potential for somatic inheritance, and adaptive capacity under environmental change.
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 marine biology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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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.
27570 BREMERHAVEN
Germany
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.