Project description
Exploring germline mutation evolution in species
Germline mutation rate (GMR) is a central concept in all disciplines of biology that varies across and within species. While there are various theories to explain what drives this variation, it remains unclear because within-species GMR variation has been explored only to some extent in humans. The EU-funded MutANTs project will study GMR in attine fungus-growing ants and an out-group of non-attine ants to obtain comparative data to predict GMRs across and within species. The attine ants are perfect for understanding GMR variation across and within species because they have similar basic ecology yet their life histories diversified enormously from the base to the crown of their phylogenetic tree.
Objective
Germline mutation rate (GMR) is a key concept in all disciplines of biology, and particularly in evolutionary biology and the biomedical sciences. GMR varies both across and within species, but what drives this variation is unclear. Theories predict that GMR variation is shaped by environmental selection pressures, by effective population sizes, and by prevailing life-history traits (across species) and parental age at reproduction (within species). However, our understanding is extremely limited because within-species GMR variation has been investigated only to some extent in humans, and larger comparative genome-level datasets in other clades have not yet been pursued.
I propose to start filling this gap by studying GMR in attine fungus-growing ants and a set of outgroup. non-attine ants. The attine ants, a ca. 55 MY old monophyletic lineage, are ideal for understanding GMR variation across and within species because their basic ecology is similar (obligate dependence of farmed fungi for food) but their life-histories diversified enormously from the base to the crown of their phylogenetic tree, which presently has 15 recognized genus-level branches and >230 species.
Against a background dataset of ~20 high quality genomes, I propose to obtain genome-wide GMR estimates for 12 attine ants and 7 non-attine ants while controlling for confounders of phylogeny, colony size, life-span and effective population size. In addition, I will do an in-depth analysis of a single leafcutter ant species with long-lived queens and stored sperm of the same age, where I can also control for parental age. I will implement the MutANTs project at the Centre for Social Evolution in Copenhagen, an internationally renowned research hub for interdisciplinary omics research on ants, with Professors Guojie Zhang and Jacobus Jan Boomsma as joint hosts. I expect that in the two years available MutANTs will yield the first comparative data to predict GMRs across and within species.
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 biological morphology comparative morphology
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology mycology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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.