Project description
Unravelling the history of faba beans
The faba bean is one of the earliest cultivated crops, and it continues to be a critical resource in many countries, playing a crucial role in crop rotation. However, our understanding of the origins of the bean remains limited. This lack of knowledge presents a challenge in estimating the extent of genetic mutations that occurred through domestication and adaptation to different environments. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the FABA-SHAPE project aims to employ advanced archaeobotany methods such as shape analysis and stable carbon isotopes analysis. These cutting-edge techniques will be used to identify Neolithic varieties of faba beans and investigate their origins, domestication process, subspecies and ecological requirements in their primitive forms. The goal is to enhance the resistance of faba beans to environmental stresses.
Objective
Among those food plants that eventually became domesticated, faba bean played a major role; the species has one of the longest established traditions of cultivation, having been domesticated more than ten thousand years ago and is a staple resource in many countries.
The process of co-evolution between faba bean and human beings developed over millennia and therefore needs to be investigated from a long-term perspective. Unfolding the past will allow us to understand the present situation and could lead to future actions to more effectively increase the resistance of faba bean to environmental stresses and pests and reduce the risk of famine for the human beings living in developing countries.
Within the context of this project, we intend to combine two of the most innovative methods available to archaeobotanists, Shape Analysis and Stable Carbon Isotopes Analysis. The combined use of these methods will allow us to identify the varieties of faba bean used by the early farmers and assess the ecological requirements of the primitive forms of faba bean. In addition, to solve the enigma of the origin of the crop, the information obtained with this project will serve as a basis for agronomists and plant breeders to search the genome of primitive landraces for useful mutations that can improve the resistance of faba bean to drought and pests.
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 evolutionary biology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
You need to log in or register to use this function
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
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
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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-2017
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
75794 PARIS
France
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.