Genomics of sexual isolation and reinforcement in the house mouse

Objective

One main topic in evolutionary biology is this unresolved and fascinating riddle: how do new species arise? In the last two decades, attention focused on the possibility that selection could play a major role in speciation, particularly when reproductive isolation is impeded by ongoing gene flow. Nowadays, the plausibility of adaptive speciation is accepted but the debate is shifting towards the challenges of identifying the factors favouring this process and of assessing the genetic basis of adaptive divergence. This project proposes to address the mechanisms of adaptive speciation in the house mouse, a model species for the study of speciation, by developing a genomics and candidate gene approach which will complement the behavioural and proteomics studies in progress on this biological system. Specifically, the project aims to elucidate the genetic basis of sexual isolation and reinforcement between two European subspecies of the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus and M. m. musculus) which hybridise in nature but show some degree of prezygotic isolation in their contact zone. Sexual isolation between these two taxa originates from the divergence of the olfactory mate recognition system. Therefore, I propose that loci implicated in pheromone recognition are prime candidates for speciation in the house mouse and I will test this hypothesis by seeking for a signature of divergence under selection in genomic regions containing these candidate genes (Murine Urinary Protein and Vomeronasal Receptor gene families). My approach will be to exploit publicly available genomic resources for the house mouse and recent progress made in the characterisation of chemosensory related gene and the idea will be to combine high throughput technologies and population genetics tools in order to assess divergence both at the sequence and the expression level. Importantly, this project will include for the first time a test of a mechanism of reinforcement at the molecular level.

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.

• natural sciences biological sciences genetics
• natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
• natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

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.

• FP7-PEOPLE-2009-RG - Marie Curie Action: "Reintegration Grants"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2009-RG
See other projects for this call

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.

MC-ERG - European Re-integration Grants (ERG)

Coordinator