Objective
The transition from a mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of settled agriculture is arguably the most fundamental change in human development since the origin of the human species, and the major question is why hunter-gatherer populations abandoned this way of life in favour of an agricultural existence. A crucial element in this change is the evolution of the crops upon which agriculture is founded. This proposal seeks to understand the selective pressures driving the this evolution through an investigation of the key phenotypic traits associated with crop domestication, providing insights into the ways in which plants were changed by human exploitation, as well as non-human environmental factors. This research programme brings together experimental ecology, molecular biology, and archaeobotany to address the three key elements for understanding the selective pressures acting on early crop evolution: (1) the relationship between human and environmental pressures and plant ecological characteristics, (2) early genetic trait selection in crop plants, and (3) the temporal and spatial location of trait selection. DNA methods will be developed for establishing the order in which traits were selected during domestication, and experimental ecology will investigate the reasons behind plant trait selection, for example whether through conscious selection for increased seed size or unconscious selection for associated traits related to the competitive ability. Improved morphometric measurement of archaeobotanical material will permit precise pinpointing of the appearance of domestication traits, and so identify the primary selective pressures driving the evolution of crop plants in different time periods and geographic locations. We will take advantage of recently developed methods to open up new areas of investigation for future research into both the origins and subsequent development of agriculture, and its role in the emergence and maintenance of civilisation.
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 DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology
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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.
ERC-2010-AdG_20100407
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.
Host institution
S10 2TN SHEFFIELD
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.