Project description
Gut microbes and moths are heroes of urban survival
Urbanisation is threatening wildlife because it creates harsh new environments that force animals, including many bird species, to adapt rapidly. Studies on vertebrates highlight the importance of gut microorganisms in this respect; however, the impact of invertebrate gut bacteria on adaptation to urban conditions remains poorly understood. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the UGMi project aims to use a metagenomic approach and reciprocal gut microorganism transfer in germ-free larvae to examine the impact of bacterial diversity on host gene regulation and survival. Specifically, it will shed light on how urban gut microbes drive adaptation in the moth Xestia xanthographa.
Objective
Urbanization imposes novel environmental stressors that can drive rapid evolutionary responses in wildlife. While vertebrate studies suggest that host-associated microbiomes play a critical role in adaptation to urban environments, their functional contributions in invertebrate hosts remain poorly understood. This project, The Urban Gut Microbiome (TUGM), investigates how gut microbiomes contribute to adaptation in urban settings using the moth Xestia xanthographa as a model system. By integrating microbial ecology, evolutionary biology, genomics, and microbiology, TUGM will (i) assess how urbanization shapes gut microbiome diversity and function, (ii) evaluate whether gut microbiome drive phenotypic plasticity and gene expression via reciprocal microbiome transplants in germ-free larvae, and (iii) assess microbial contribution to host phenotypes through isolate reinoculation assays under simulated urban scenarios. Through a combination of field sampling, metagenomics, transcriptomics, and manipulative experiments, this project aims to provide mechanistic insights into the role of gut microbes in mediating host adaptation to urban environments. TUGM thus advances beyond descriptive studies, offering a novel, interdisciplinary framework to explore the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of host–microbiome interactions in a rapidly urbanizing world.
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 ecology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
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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)
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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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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.
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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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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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00014 Helsinki
Finland
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