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400 Million Years of Symbiosis: Host-microbe interactions in marine lucinid clams from past to present

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.

Host institution

UNIVERSITAT WIEN
Net EU contribution
€ 1 499 561,00
Address
Universitatsring 1
1010 Wien
Austria

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Region
Ostösterreich Wien Wien
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Other funding
€ 0,00

Beneficiaries (1)

UNIVERSITAT WIEN
Austria
Net EU contribution
€ 1 499 561,00
Address
Universitatsring 1
1010 Wien

See on map

Region
Ostösterreich Wien Wien
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Other funding
€ 0,00