Objective
Phenotypic plasticity is considered a catalyst for speciation through two alternative mechanisms: the Baldwin effect and genetic assimilation. Midas cichlids – Nicaraguan freshwater fishes where multiple species diverged in sympatry in crater lakes after colonization from larger source lakes – are the ideal model to study the influence of plasticity in speciation. The presence of trade-offs in the morphology of Midas cichlids’ pharyngeal jaw – a trophic structure used to crush hard food items which plastically modifies its size and shape when subjected to hard food – allows to generate specific hypotheses. In fact, according to theoretical models, in presence of trade-offs genetic assimilation is more likely than the Baldwin effect. I will use common garden experiments involving two Midas species from Lake Apoyo and the species from Lake Nicaragua (which acted as a source for Lake Apoyo) subjecting the fish to hard and soft diet treatments, that are nutritionally identically and only differ in their hardness. I will then measure the levels and directions of plastic response in each species/treatment using advanced geometric morphometric analyses and I will assess their transcriptional correlates using a combination of Illumina RNA next generation sequencing and RT-qPCR. I will, therefore, be able to test the following three hypotheses: 1. that the derived populations from Lake Apoyo show lower levels of plasticity than source species (as expected as a consequence of genetic assimilation); 2. that the plastic response in the source population produces the same phenotypes found in natural populations of the derived species (as expected according to the “flexible stem hypothesis”); 3. comparing the results with published data from African cichlids, that the genes differentially expressed in pharyngeal jaw plastic response are the same in both closely and distantly related cichlid lineages (thus suggesting a conserved molecular basis for pharyngeal jaw plasticity).
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 freshwater biology
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
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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
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF
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Funding Scheme
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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
78464 Konstanz
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.