Project description
How blind cavefish embryos reveal secrets of evolution
Before an embryo’s own genes switch on, early development is steered entirely by maternal molecules packed into the egg. But how do these maternal inputs shape evolution? Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CaveMum project explores this question using Astyanax mexicanus, a species with both sighted surface fish and blind cave-dwelling forms. These two morphs show dramatic differences in body structure and behaviour. Researchers have found that their eggs carry distinct maternal signals, especially in genes linked to metabolism. CaveMum investigates how these metabolic factors influence development, using gene editing and chemical tools to probe their effects. The project could uncover new mechanisms linking maternal biology to evolutionary change in vertebrates.
Objective
Animal development is initially directed by maternal products deposited in the egg, entirely controlling early embryogenesis, including key patterning events, before the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT) and zygotic genome activation. Despite differences in maternal programmes between species, the role of maternal factors in morphological evolution remains largely unexplored.
This project aims to address this question using Astyanax mexicanus – a fish species with sighted river-dwelling (SF) and blind cave-adapted (CF) morphs that have rapidly and extensively diverged in morphology, physiology and behaviour. CF and SF egg transcriptomes display strong maternal signatures linked to differences in gastrulation and cavefish sensory phenotypes. The host laboratory discovered that divergence between maternal programmes primarily involves genes with metabolism-related functions. Thus, variation in embryonic metabolism and processes it influences may constitute an important mechanism of developmental evolution. To address this hypothesis, I propose to first characterise the aspects of metabolism under divergent maternal control to identify candidate genes for functional analysis. Second, I will employ transcriptome editing and chemical treatments to examine the function of the candidate genes in cavefish embryogenesis, and the phenotypic outcomes will be characterised to link metabolic and phenotypic variation. Finally, I will test the hypothesis that morph-specific aspects of embryonic metabolism may influence the timing, dynamics and extent of the essential transcriptome reprogramming event during embryo development – MZT. Altogether, this innovative, timely and highly integrative study will shed new light on the functional importance and mechanisms of maternal control and embryonic metabolism in the phenotypic evolution of cavefish and, more broadly, vertebrates.
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 developmental biology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA transcriptomes
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine embryology
- 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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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-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.
75794 Paris
France
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