Objective
Ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA), a clade of the Thaumarchaeota phylum, diversified in a variety of marine and terrestrial environments. Due to their abundance, AOA are deemed major players in the global cycle of nitrogen. They also produce greenhouse gasses. Despite their ecological importance, the nature and origin of ammonia oxidizing metabolism and the reasons for the ecological success of AOA are still unknown. This project aims at performing the first comprehensive evolutionary and comparative genomic analysis of Thaumarchaeota to identify crucial metabolic and genomic features. Prof. Schleper is a leading scientist in Thaumarchaeota cultivation, genomics and physiology. Metagenomic data produced in her laboratory give now access to genomes of crucial taxa for this project. I will complete these genomes, and analyse all available AOA genomes with a sophisticated model of genome evolution to reconstruct the species tree of Thaumarchaeota and the events (gene duplications, transfers and losses) that occurred along their evolution. The genome of the AOA’s ancestor will be inferred, and the minimal gene set required for ammonia oxidation identified. The sets of evolutionary events and the ancestral genome will be linked to metabolic and ecological transitions to obtain the scenario of ammonia oxidation emergence and of the adaptation of AOA to various environments, thus addressing key questions in the fields of ecology, evolution, and archaea biology. This interdisciplinary project is only possible through the unique combination of my expertise in comparative genomics and molecular phylogeny with the expertise of Prof. Schleper's group, which will result in two-ways transfers of knowledge and skills. Beyond scientific training, I will be trained to project management and project design with experimental biologists. This is crucial for my career, as I plan to start a group at the edge of bioinformatics and experimental biology to study how complex systems evolve.
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 chemical sciences electrochemistry electrolysis
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
- 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-2015
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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.
1010 Wien
Austria
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.