Objective
Virtually every species of insect harbors facultative bacterial endosymbionts that are transmitted from females to their offspring, often in the egg cytoplasm. These symbionts play crucial roles in the biology of their hosts. Many manipulate host reproduction in order to spread within host populations. Others increase the fitness of their hosts under certain conditions. For example, increasing tolerance to heat or protecting their hosts against natural enemies. Over the past decade, our understanding of insect endosymbionts has shifted from seeing them as fascinating oddities to being ubiquitous and central to the biology of their hosts, including many of high economic and medical importance. However, in spite of growing interest in endosymbionts, very little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying most endosymbiont-insect interactions. For instance, the basis of the main phenotypes caused by endosymbionts, including diverse reproductive manipulations or symbiont-protective immunity, remains largely enigmatic. The goal of the present application is to fill this gap by dissecting the interaction between Drosophila and its native endosymbiont Spiroplasma poulsonii. This project will use a broad range of approaches ranging from molecular genetic to genomics to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying key features of the symbiosis, including vertical transmission, male killing, regulation of symbiont growth, and symbiont-mediated protection against parasitic wasps. We believe that the fundamental knowledge generated on the Drosophila-Spiroplasma interaction will serve as a paradigm for other endosymbiont-insect interactions that are less amenable to genetic studies.
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 microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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-2013-ADG
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
1015 LAUSANNE
Switzerland
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.