Project description
Evolutionary insight into phytoplankton mating
Mamiellophyceae are unicellular green algae found in phytoplankton of coastal waters. In a balanced ecosystem, phytoplankton has a central ecological role as it provides food to various sea animals. The GREMA project is funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme and seeks to delineate the life cycle of Mamiellophyceae. Evidence so far indicates the presence of two mating types, but little is known regarding their evolution. Researchers will follow a multidisciplinary approach to study the ecology and evolution of Mamiellophyceae mating as well as to identify the environmental factors that influence this process.
Objective
Phytoplankton is responsible of almost the half of earth’s primary production. Among the different components of the phytoplankton, there is an important group of picosized green algae (between 0.8 and 3um), the Mamiellophyceae, that is ubiquitous in the sunlit ocean and can reach high abundances in coastal environments. The first population genomics study of the Mamiellophycean species Ostreococcus tauri, revealed indirect evidences of recombinant events and the presence of two different mating types (M+ and M-), which led to the description of these two mating types in another three Mamiellophycean species. However we do not know whether this candidate mating-type structure is conserved throughout earlier diverging Mamiellophyceaen lineages. Neither do we know the relative frequency of the two mating types in natural communities and which environmental factors influence mating and recombination. Therefore, the major aim of this proposal is to elucidate the evolution of mating types and the prevalence of recombination across natural populations in ecologically relevant phytoplanktonic species (Mamiellophyceae), including the estimation of environmental effects in mating. To address this, I will use a multidisciplinary approach taking advantage of an original set of genomic datasets (population genomics data, new genomic sequences and metagenomic data from natural communities) and experimental tools, which will allow me to contribute to solving an important knowledge gap in the life cycle of Mamiellophyceae. Specifically, I will focus in identifying the prevalence of recombination in two closely related species of Otreococcus, capture the ecology and evolution of mating types across Mamiellophyceae and detect the abiotic and biotic factors that affect mating in O. tauri. For the latter, I will take advantage of genetic transformation techniques to select recombinant cells.
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 genetics
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology phycology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
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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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
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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.
75794 Paris
France
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