Objective
Freshwater quality was defined as a key environmental theme by the European Environment Agency's State and Outlook 2010 Report. A large threat to freshwater quality is the accelerated eutrophocation of lake waters due to high human impacts from agriculture and industrial and residential wastes, leading to eutrophocation and in some cases toxic cyanobacterial blooms. Microbial communities in eutrophic lakes contribute to a positive feedback loop which perpetuates eutrophocation. The persistence of and capability for dissemination of specific genes related to microbial metabolism in lake environments is unknown. Phage transduction is the primary mechanism by which gene transfer events occur in bacteria. Phage have the possibility to mediate LGT between very distantly related bacteria and transfer virulence factors and genes for metabolic adaptation across taxonomic boundaries and over long phylogenetic ranges. In this study, we will characterise microbial and phage populations as well as phage-mediated LGT in Finnish lakes using culture-independent techniques and high-throughput sequencing to determine: 1) the native microbial and phage populations in lakes at different trophic levels, 2) the cohort of functional genes carried by phage, and 3) how broad the host range of resident phage is. We hypothesize that phage provide a reservoir for genes allowing niche adaptation and increased fitness in response to nutrient stress and/or deprivation. Additionally, we will be able to identify whether phage contribute to the persistence and spread of cyanobacterial toxin genes, and/or providing a reservoir for genes which contribute to the positive feedback loop of eutrophication.
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.
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology genetic engineering gene therapy
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology microbiomes
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
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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.
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.
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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IIF
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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.
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
00014 Helsinki
Finland
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.