Project description
Unravelling the evolution of animal gastrulation
During early development, different mechanisms dictate cell fate differentiation and morphogenesis. However, little is known about how this developmental diversification evolves. Scientists of the EU-funded GHOSTINTHESHELL project propose to study the interactions between cells of the early embryo, the yolk sac and the surrounding eggshell to understand the process of gastrulation morphogenesis. They will investigate the molecular mechanisms and tissue movements during gastrulation as well as the consequences on embryo viability following their disruption. Using two insect model embryos, Drosophila and Tribolium, researchers will unravel how the regulation of tissue interactions shapes gastrulation morphogenesis and animal phylogeny.
Objective
Early animal development, including the process of gastrulation, exhibits tremendous diversity of morphogenetic mechanisms. How does this morphological divergence evolve under the constraints imposed on early embryos remains unclear. In this proposal, I will ask how interactions between cells of the early embryo, the yolk component of the egg and the attachment to the surrounding egg shell affects gastrulation morphogenesis. I will focus on the comparison of two insect embryos, Drosophila and Tribolium, that exhibit strikingly different flows and foldings of the fundamentally very similar cellular blastoderm epithelium during gastrulation. I will ask how contacts between the cellular blastoderm, the yolk-sac and the surrounding vitelline envelope confine and shape tissue movements. What are the molecular mechanisms mediating the contacts and what functional consequences their disruption has for the embryo’s viability. I will probe the tissue interactions by embryological and biophysical manipulations, in toto electron and live microscopy and through genetic manipulations of the integrin adhesion pathway that I recently showed to impact insect gastrulation by mediating cellular blastoderm-vitelline envelope attachment. Using the comparative approach, I will ask how changes in the regulation of tissue interactions sculpt gastrulation morphogenesis in these insect species. I will then expand the investigation beyond arthropods and probe the tissue-shell interaction in several non-model species in order to understand its evolutionary origin and significance for shaping animal phylogeny. Taken together, the research will bridge two relatively isolated disciplines – evolution of development and tissue morphogenesis. By combining their methodological and conceptual approach, I will shed new light on the mechanisms governing diversification of early development and lay the foundations for understanding the phylogeny of morphogenesis.
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 physical sciences optics microscopy
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine embryology
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
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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.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
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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) ERC-2019-ADG
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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.
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany
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.