Objective
The evolution of a terrestrial flora from within a single fresh-water algal lineage (Streptophyta) represented a singularity in Earth’s history, giving rise to one of the most profound geobiological transitions in the history of the planet. Adaptations key for the transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats included the ability to tolerate extremes in temperature, desiccation, and radiation; key stressors characteristic of the surfaces of glaciers, where Zygnematophycean ‘ice algae’, some of the closest living relatives to land plants, currently thrive. With this proposal, I hypothesise that glacier surfaces represent important intermediates between aquatic and terrestrial habitats, driving evolution of unique adaptations in ice algal lineages that represent exaptations of ancestral Streptophytes for the colonisation of land. To test my hypothesis, I will unite the disciplines of genomics, engineering, glaciology and biology to constrain ice algal cold-adaptation mechanisms to life in surface ice and provide unique insight into the aspects of Streptophyte biology that enabled the conquest of land. I will achieve this by i) sequencing the genomes of two ice environment specialists that dominate across the cryosphere, allowing identification of ice algal cold-adaptation mechanisms and homologs in extant basal land plant lineages; ii) develop a controlled environment microalgal assessment system, i.e. ‘photosynthetron’, optimised for deployment in surface ice environments in collaboration with a leading developer of high-throughput plant and algal phenotyping platforms; iii) deploy this across the cryosphere to validate cold-adaptation mechanisms identified from genome interrogation and significantly advance our understanding of how life excels within icy environments. Taken together, outcomes will significantly advance the emerging field of glacial microbiology and could represent a fundamental shift in the way we view processes of land plant terrestrialization.
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.
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology phycology
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences physical geography glaciology
- 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.
8000 Aarhus C
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.