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Keys to evolutionary success: untangling drivers of hyperdiversification

Project description

Untangling hyperdiversification

In biology, a taxon is a group of one or more populations of an organism. Explaining how some lineages of organisms have diversified more than others poses a major challenge in evolutionary biology. The EU-funded HYPERDIVERSE project aims to focus on one hyperdiverse and poorly-known taxon of molluscs, the marine predators Neogastropoda. The study will reconstruct a robust, precise and complete phylogeny of the group by using cutting-edge omic technologies. More importantly, the project will then use this phylogeny to test correlations between the diversification dynamic of the group and genotypic and phenotypic traits and propose hypotheses on the factors at the origin of these correlations.

Objective

Explaining why some taxa are more diversified than their closest relatives remains one of the major challenges in evolutionary biology. However, much of Earths biodiversity is concentrated in few diverse non-vertebrate animal lineages, whose analysis of diversification dynamics is hampered by the lack of empirical data. The NEOME project will focus on one hyperdiverse and poorly-known taxon of molluscs, the marine predators Neogastropoda. Their high species diversity (>15,000 species), largely undescribed, and the key innovations they evolved, linked to their feeding habits and dispersal abilities, make them a perfect model system to test hypotheses related to the diversification of hyperdiverse taxa. The first objective of the project will be to reconstruct a robust, precise and complete phylogeny of the group by using cutting-edge omic technologies. The second goal will be to test correlations between two traits the exogenome diversity as proxy of feeding habits, and the type of larval development as a proxy of dispersal capabilities, which are keys for understanding diversification dynamics, using genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. The same data will also be used to fulfil the last objective: identifying the genetic determinants of the two traits, the molecular mechanisms at the origin of their diversity, and the processes by which these traits interact with the environment to mediate the diversification of the neogastropods. The major breakthrough of the project will thus rely on the joint analysis of the correlation between traits and diversification and of the causal factors at the origin of this correlation. Furthermore, the project will also impact other fields of research, with the production of unique data on many culturally, economically and scientifically important species, including the first complete genomes for the group, and the characterization of numerous compounds potentially promising in human therapeutics and biotechnologies.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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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.

ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2019-COG

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Host institution

MUSEUM NATIONAL D'HISTOIRE NATURELLE
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 1 949 788,00
Address
RUE CUVIER 57
75005 Paris
France

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Region
Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

€ 1 949 788,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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