Objective
Evolution of venom, nature’s most complex cocktail, has underpinned the predatory success of venomous animals. Till date, research on venom has mainly focused on how genes encoding them evolve, and our knowledge regarding the evolutionary origin of venom-secreting cells (VSCs) and their secretions, has been limited. Understanding how venom and VSCs evolve in cnidarians - one of the simplest and probably the first venomous animals, such as sea anemones is not only fascinating as it sheds light on the evolution of their ancient venom-system, but may also be instrumental in the development of efficient nematocyte (stinging-cells) based drug-delivery tools. Identifying variation in venom-composition and sites of expression across various developmental stages and between the sexes (gender-specific expression) is also an understudied topic. The former is particularly intriguing in sea anemones, as their larval stages do not feed and yet synthesize toxins. Hence, in this project I propose to: trace the evolutionary origin of known VSCs (nematocytes and gland cells) in the starlet anemone, Nematostella vectensis, by constructing transgenic reporter lines; characterize venom-secretomes of VSCs using Fluorescence Assisted Cell Sorting (FACS) to determine the contribution of each VSC towards the venom arsenal; examine variation in venom-profiles and expression sites across the developmental stages and between the sexes using ‘omics’ technologies, in situ hybridization and immunostaining; test the biochemical activities (pharmacological assays) of the major and novel toxins identified; and examine the phylogenetic histories and the molecular evolutionary regimes of the major sea anemone toxins to understand the recruitment of genes into the envenoming function in one of the first venomous animals.
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
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA transcriptomes
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology molecular evolution
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2014
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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.
91904 JERUSALEM
Israel
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.