Project description
Investigating the role of DNA methylation in coral climate resilience
Coral reefs support over 25 % of marine life and provide food and livelihood to about 500 million people. However, climate change is threatening their survival. With support from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the EPICORAL project will investigate epigenetic mechanisms that help corals adapt to climate change, specifically whether DNA methylation helps corals maintain transcriptional stability under climate-induced stress. To do so, it will leverage in situ experiments to compare corals in acclimated, stressed environments with control groups. By revealing the role DNA methylation plays in coral climate resilience, EPICORAL will validate epigenetic conditioning for reef restoration and develop biomarkers for early detection of coral stress.
Objective
At least 500 million people and >25% of all marine species directly rely on coral reefs – an ecosystem valued at $9.9 trillion annually, but one that is predicted to decline 70-90% by 2050 due to global climate threats. In addition to reef adaptation strategies, targeted approaches to enhance coral acclimation are critical for the persistence of reefs under future climate change scenarios. Yet, the molecular mechanisms underpinning acclimation in corals remain unclear, hindering the development of new restoration technologies. Environmentally sensitive epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, are important molecular mediators of acclimation in many species. However, in corals, it remains unclear how DNA methylation is linked to climate resilience. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, EPICORAL will test a new, integrative and mechanistic hypothesis: that DNA methylation mediates coral climate resilience by maintaining transcriptional fidelity under stressful conditions. EPICORAL will take a multidisciplinary approach, building on complementary areas of expertise in marine ecology, genomics, epigenetics and transcriptomics to leverage a unique, in-situ experiment in a semi enclosed lagoon (where corals are long-term acclimatized to acidification, deoxygenation and thermal stress), and at a nearby control reef (where conditions are more benign). EPICORAL aims to elucidate previously unexplained scientific findings through high level training and knowledge transfer. By uncovering the role DNA methylation plays in coral climate resilience, EPICORAL will help to validate reef restoration approaches relying on the concept of “epigenetic conditioning” and provide early indications of coral stress-exposure through the development of “epigenetic biomarkers”.
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 DNA
- engineering and technology environmental engineering ecosystem-based management climate change adaptation
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
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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)
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-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.
75006 Paris
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.