Objective
The application of molecular biology to oceanography is still little developped, especially in Europe. However, it is a very promising field for marine biologists, who have become able to address key ecological questions with a level of resolution never attained by previous methods. It is now possible to directly use molecular probes on field samples either to assess the extent of genetic diversity in genetically related marine organisms or to probe their nutrient status.
The present project is centered on an important and recently discovered genus of marine photosynthetic microorganism: Prochlorococcus. This prokaryote proliferates in oligotrophic areas, including the Mediterranean and Red Seas, is the tiniest and numerically the most abundant photosynthetic organism on Earth and accounts for a large part (up to 50%) of the photosynthetic biomass and primary production in these areas. Moreover, Prochlorococcus has the advantages of being easily discriminated and counted by flow cytometry and of possessing a unique pigment signature (divinyl-chlorophylls a and b). In addition, natural isolates from a variety of sites and depths are available under laboratory conditions. Prochlorococcus therefore constitutes an outstanding biological model for ecological studies.
In the framework of the Promolec project, we will:
1) study the intrageneric diversity of Prochlorococcus in the laboratory and in the field, with an effort to correlate the phenotypical and genotypical characters,
2) characterize the genes encoding cellular components responsible for ecologically significant functions (photosynthesis, growth, responses to nitrogen and phosphorus limitation) and study their regulation, 3) develop a set of molecular probes and screen these functions in natural Prochlorococcus populations
Because of the remarkable ecological importance of Prochlorococcus, which can be considered as a biological tracer of oligotrophy, this project is expected: 1) to improve the knowledge of the actual status of oligotrophic areas 2) to provide means to monitor biological changes that may occur in response to variations in short or long-term hydrological conditions (including the global man-induced increase in carbon dioxyde in the atmosphere) 3) to help identify key factors controlling the genetic diversity in picophytoplankton.
Promolec fits well with the priority theme N- 1 defined in the second call for proposal to MAST-III
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 ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences oceanography
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
- natural sciences biological sciences botany
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology
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Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
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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.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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.
Coordinator
29682 ROSCOFF
France
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.