Objective
The hymenopteran eusocial insects (ants, bees, wasps) not only have impressive colony lives, but also spectacular adaptations for the years-long storage of live sperm. Where human medicine requires cryotechnology to do this, the queens of honeybees and ants produce glandular secretions to maintain sperm at ambient temperatures inside a specialized storage organ (spermatheca). During my PhD, I pioneered the study of male accessory glands and their effects on sperm viability during insemination, using mostly leafcutter ants. I discovered that ejaculate competition has evolved in ants and bees with multiply mated queens, but is terminated by ant queens after sperm storage. This made it clear that female secretions play key roles and that proteomic approaches are needed to understand their function. I plan to use the honeybee Apis mellifera to study the effects of female glandular secretions in situations of potential sexual conflict. These arise when queens are inseminated by multiple males and have an interest in selecting the most viable sperm fraction for permanent storage and later use when fertilizing eggs. I will combine evolutionary biology with proteomics technology to characterize and identify the proteome of secretions that newly mated queens add to ejaculates while sperm is transferred, maintained in the reproductive tract for up to several days, and finally stored for years. I will also study the specific effects of oviduct- and spermatheca secretions on ejaculate physiology and sperm viability. Finally, I will combine biochemical and experimental approaches to clarify the function of specific protein components within these female secretions. My research will provide novel answers to general evolutionary questions about the expression and regulation of sexual conflict. It will develop novel technology with considerable potential for general studies of sperm viability and for applied honeybee breeding studies at times when many commercial stocks are declini
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 biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology apidology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
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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.
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.
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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IOF
See other projects for this call
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.
Coordinator
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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.