Project description
Evolving together; parasites and their hosts offer insights into antagonistic symbiosis
Parasitism is a symbiotic relationship that often drives the coevolution of parasites and hosts. Despite its effects on agriculture, livestock production, aquaculture and human health, little is known about the basis for coevolution. The EU-funded Coevolution project will investigate the process of coevolution from a genomic perspective using the small planktonic crustacean Daphnia magna and one of its bacteria parasites as a model system. By studying the genome of these two species over time, researchers will provide unprecedented evidence on antagonistic coevolution in a natural population and how it can drive genetic diversity, local adaptation and differentiation.
Objective
Parasites infect nearly all forms of metazoan life, and act to shape the evolution of host populations and drive the dynamics of entire biological communities. Parasitism also acts a 2-way street: As host populations evolve in response to selection imposed by their parasites, so too does the parasite evolve in response to its host. This antagonistic coevolution between host and parasite may generate much of the genetic diversity found in natural populations, and is likely a strong driver of local adaptation and population differentiation. Host-parasite coevolution is also of enormous practical concern for human society, as parasites impose considerable costs in respect to agriculture, livestock production, aquaculture, and human health. Unfortunately though, very little empirical evidence is available to evaluate some of the most fundamental predictions of coevolutionary theory, especially in respect to the genomic basis of coevolution, as past studies of antagonistic coevolution have typically been conducted at the phenotypic level, or using simplified host-parasite systems in a laboratory setting. I therefore propose to conduct a direct genome-level investigation of antagonistic coevolution between wild populations of a host (Daphnia magna) and its bacterial parasite (Pasteuria ramosa). This research will capitalize upon recent technical and theoretical advances in the D. magna / P. ramosa system, and will center upon the measurement of interspecies linkage disequilibrium across the genomes of both species. This investigation will be conducted across multiple timescales: A single point in time, across the course of one year, and across a 50-year sediment core time-series. I expect that these experiments will yield direct genomic evidence of antagonistic coevolution in a natural population, a clear test of Red Queen coevolutionary dynamics, and the first genetic time-series of such resolution and duration.
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.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries fisheries
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
- agricultural sciences animal and dairy science domestic animals animal husbandry
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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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-2018
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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.
4051 Basel
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.