Project description
Shedding new light on an ancient microbial symbiosis
Found worldwide in shallow marine habitats, lucinid clams and their symbiotic bacteria are being put under the microscope. There are hundreds of lucinid species, and almost every one of these hosts its own specific symbiotic microbes. In fact, the clam’s ability to select one specific symbiont from the trillions of bacteria in its environment challenges current assumptions about the function and specificity of the innate immune system. The EU-funded EvoLucin project will investigate the association between marine lucinid clams and chemosynthetic symbiotic bacteria. It will study three key aspects of the clams' host-microbe interactions: the acquisition and selection of microbes during animal development; the maintenance along animal lifetimes through molecular communication and exchange; and the emergence and perpetuation over evolution.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- humanitieshistory and archaeologyhistory
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteins
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineimmunology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiological behavioural sciencesethologybiological interactions
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
Host institution
1010 Wien
Austria
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Beneficiaries (1)
1010 Wien
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