Project acronym AVIAN DIMORPHISM
Project The genomic and transcriptomic locus of sex-specific selection in birds
Researcher (PI) Judith Elizabeth Mank
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS8, ERC-2010-StG_20091118
Summary It has long been understood that genes contribute to phenotypes that are then the basis of selection. However, the nature and process of this relationship remains largely theoretical, and the relative contribution of change in gene expression and coding sequence to phenotypic diversification is unclear. The aim of this proposal is to fuse information about sexually dimorphic phenotypes, the mating systems and sexually antagonistic selective agents that shape sexual dimorphism, and the sex-biased gene expression patterns that encode sexual dimorphisms, in order to create a cohesive integrated understanding of the relationship between evolution, the genome, and the animal form. The primary approach of this project is to harnesses emergent DNA sequencing technologies in order to measure evolutionary change in gene expression and coding sequence in response to different sex-specific selection regimes in a clade of birds with divergent mating systems. Sex-specific selection pressures arise in large part as a consequence of mating system, however males and females share nearly identical genomes, especially in the vertebrates where the sex chromosomes house very small proportions of the overall transcriptome. This single shared genome creates sex-specific phenotypes via different gene expression levels in females and males, and these sex-biased genes connect sexual dimorphisms, and the sexually antagonistic selection pressures that shape them, with the regions of the genome that encode them.
The Galloanserae (fowl and waterfowl) will be used to in the proposed project, as this clade combines the necessary requirements of both variation in mating systems and a well-conserved reference genome (chicken). The study species selected from within the Galloanserae for the proposal exhibit a range of sexual dimorphism and sperm competition, and this will be exploited with next generation (454 and Illumina) genomic and transcriptomic data to study the gene expression patterns that underlie sexual dimorphisms, and the evolutionary pressures acting on them. This work will be complemented by the development of mathematical models of sex-specific evolution that will be tested against the gene expression and gene sequence data in order to understand the mechanisms by which sex-specific selection regimes, arising largely from mating systems, shape the phenotype via the genome.
Summary
It has long been understood that genes contribute to phenotypes that are then the basis of selection. However, the nature and process of this relationship remains largely theoretical, and the relative contribution of change in gene expression and coding sequence to phenotypic diversification is unclear. The aim of this proposal is to fuse information about sexually dimorphic phenotypes, the mating systems and sexually antagonistic selective agents that shape sexual dimorphism, and the sex-biased gene expression patterns that encode sexual dimorphisms, in order to create a cohesive integrated understanding of the relationship between evolution, the genome, and the animal form. The primary approach of this project is to harnesses emergent DNA sequencing technologies in order to measure evolutionary change in gene expression and coding sequence in response to different sex-specific selection regimes in a clade of birds with divergent mating systems. Sex-specific selection pressures arise in large part as a consequence of mating system, however males and females share nearly identical genomes, especially in the vertebrates where the sex chromosomes house very small proportions of the overall transcriptome. This single shared genome creates sex-specific phenotypes via different gene expression levels in females and males, and these sex-biased genes connect sexual dimorphisms, and the sexually antagonistic selection pressures that shape them, with the regions of the genome that encode them.
The Galloanserae (fowl and waterfowl) will be used to in the proposed project, as this clade combines the necessary requirements of both variation in mating systems and a well-conserved reference genome (chicken). The study species selected from within the Galloanserae for the proposal exhibit a range of sexual dimorphism and sperm competition, and this will be exploited with next generation (454 and Illumina) genomic and transcriptomic data to study the gene expression patterns that underlie sexual dimorphisms, and the evolutionary pressures acting on them. This work will be complemented by the development of mathematical models of sex-specific evolution that will be tested against the gene expression and gene sequence data in order to understand the mechanisms by which sex-specific selection regimes, arising largely from mating systems, shape the phenotype via the genome.
Max ERC Funding
1 350 804 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2016-07-31
Project acronym BIG_IDEA
Project Building an Integrated Genetic Infectious Disease Epidemiology Approach
Researcher (PI) Francois Balloux
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS8, ERC-2010-StG_20091118
Summary Epidemiology and public health planning will increasingly rely on the analysis of genetic sequence data. The recent swine-derived influenza A/H1N1 pandemic may represent a tipping point in this trend, as it is arguably the first time when multiple strains of a human pathogen have been sequenced essentially in real time from the very beginning of its spread. However, the full potential of genetic information cannot be fully exploited to infer the spread of epidemics due to the lack of statistical methodologies capable of reconstructing transmission routes from genetic data structured both in time and space. To address this urgent need, we propose to develop a methodological framework for the reconstruction of the spatiotemporal dynamics of disease outbreaks and epidemics based on genetic sequence data. Rather than reconstructing most recent common ancestors as in phylogenetics, we will directly infer the most likely ancestries among the sampled isolates. This represents an entirely novel paradigm and allows for the development of statistically coherent and powerful inference software within a Bayesian framework. The methodological framework will be developed in parallel with the analysis of real genetic/genomic data from important human pathogens. We will in particular focus on the 2009 A/H1N1 pandemic influenza, methicilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clones (MRSAs), Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a fungus currently devastating amphibian populations worldwide. The tools we are proposing to develop are likely to impact radically on the field of infectious disease epidemiology and affect the way infectious emerging pathogens are monitored by biologists and public health professionals.
Summary
Epidemiology and public health planning will increasingly rely on the analysis of genetic sequence data. The recent swine-derived influenza A/H1N1 pandemic may represent a tipping point in this trend, as it is arguably the first time when multiple strains of a human pathogen have been sequenced essentially in real time from the very beginning of its spread. However, the full potential of genetic information cannot be fully exploited to infer the spread of epidemics due to the lack of statistical methodologies capable of reconstructing transmission routes from genetic data structured both in time and space. To address this urgent need, we propose to develop a methodological framework for the reconstruction of the spatiotemporal dynamics of disease outbreaks and epidemics based on genetic sequence data. Rather than reconstructing most recent common ancestors as in phylogenetics, we will directly infer the most likely ancestries among the sampled isolates. This represents an entirely novel paradigm and allows for the development of statistically coherent and powerful inference software within a Bayesian framework. The methodological framework will be developed in parallel with the analysis of real genetic/genomic data from important human pathogens. We will in particular focus on the 2009 A/H1N1 pandemic influenza, methicilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clones (MRSAs), Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a fungus currently devastating amphibian populations worldwide. The tools we are proposing to develop are likely to impact radically on the field of infectious disease epidemiology and affect the way infectious emerging pathogens are monitored by biologists and public health professionals.
Max ERC Funding
1 483 080 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-11-01, End date: 2015-10-31
Project acronym BIOMOF
Project Biomineral-inspired growth and processing of metal-organic frameworks
Researcher (PI) Darren Bradshaw
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE5, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary This ERC-StG proposal, BIOMOF, outlines a dual strategy for the growth and processing of porous metal-organic framework (MOF) materials, inspired by the interfacial interactions that characterise highly controlled biomineralisation processes. The aim is to prepare MOF (bio)-composite materials of hierarchical structure and multi-modal functionality to address key societal challenges in healthcare, catalysis and energy. In order for MOFs to reach their full potential, a transformative approach to their growth, and in particular their processability, is required since the insoluble macroscopic micron-sized crystals resulting from conventional syntheses are unsuitable for many applications. The BIOMOF project defines chemically flexible routes to MOFs under mild conditions, where the added value with respect to wide-ranging experimental procedures for the growth and processing of crystalline controllably nanoscale MOF materials with tunable structure and functionality that display significant porosity for wide-ranging applications is extremely high. Theme 1 exploits protein vesicles and abundant biopolymer matrices for the confined growth of soluble nanoscale MOFs for high-end biomedical applications such as cell imaging and targeted drug delivery, whereas theme 2 focuses on the cost-effective preparation of hierarchically porous MOF composites over several length scales, of relevance to bulk industrial applications such as sustainable catalysis, separations and gas-storage. This diverse yet complementary range of applications arising simply from the way the MOF is processed, coupled with the versatile structural and physical properties of MOFs themselves indicates strongly that the BIOMOF concept is a powerful convergent new approach to applied materials chemistry.
Summary
This ERC-StG proposal, BIOMOF, outlines a dual strategy for the growth and processing of porous metal-organic framework (MOF) materials, inspired by the interfacial interactions that characterise highly controlled biomineralisation processes. The aim is to prepare MOF (bio)-composite materials of hierarchical structure and multi-modal functionality to address key societal challenges in healthcare, catalysis and energy. In order for MOFs to reach their full potential, a transformative approach to their growth, and in particular their processability, is required since the insoluble macroscopic micron-sized crystals resulting from conventional syntheses are unsuitable for many applications. The BIOMOF project defines chemically flexible routes to MOFs under mild conditions, where the added value with respect to wide-ranging experimental procedures for the growth and processing of crystalline controllably nanoscale MOF materials with tunable structure and functionality that display significant porosity for wide-ranging applications is extremely high. Theme 1 exploits protein vesicles and abundant biopolymer matrices for the confined growth of soluble nanoscale MOFs for high-end biomedical applications such as cell imaging and targeted drug delivery, whereas theme 2 focuses on the cost-effective preparation of hierarchically porous MOF composites over several length scales, of relevance to bulk industrial applications such as sustainable catalysis, separations and gas-storage. This diverse yet complementary range of applications arising simply from the way the MOF is processed, coupled with the versatile structural and physical properties of MOFs themselves indicates strongly that the BIOMOF concept is a powerful convergent new approach to applied materials chemistry.
Max ERC Funding
1 492 970 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-11-01, End date: 2015-10-31
Project acronym BLUELEAF
Project The adaptive advantages, evolution and development of iridescence in leaves
Researcher (PI) Heather Whitney
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS8, ERC-2010-StG_20091118
Summary Iridescence is a form of structural colour which changes hue according to the angle from which it is viewed. Blue iridescence caused by multilayers has been described on the leaves of taxonomically diverse species such as the lycophyte Selaginella uncinata and the angiosperm Begonia pavonina. While much is known about the role of leaf pigment colour, the adaptive role of leaf iridescence is unknown. Hypotheses have been put forward including 1) iridescence acts as disruptive camouflage against herbivores 2) it enhances light sensing and capture in low light conditions 3) it is a photoprotective mechanism to protect shade-adapted plants against high light levels. These hypotheses are not mutually exclusive: each function may be of varying importance in different environments. To understand any one function, we need a interdisciplinary approach considering all three potential functions and their interactions. The objective of my research would be to test these hypotheses, using animal behavioural and plant physiological methods, to determine the functions of leaf iridescence and how the plant has adapted to the reflection of developmentally vital wavelengths. Use of molecular and bioinformatics methods will elucidate the genes that control the production of this potentially multifunctional optical phenomenon. This research will provide a pioneering study into the generation, developmental impact and adaptive significance of iridescence in leaves. It would also answer questions at the frontiers of several fields including those of plant evolution, insect vision, methods of camouflage, the generation and role of animal iridescence, and could also potentially inspire synthetic biomimetic applications.
Summary
Iridescence is a form of structural colour which changes hue according to the angle from which it is viewed. Blue iridescence caused by multilayers has been described on the leaves of taxonomically diverse species such as the lycophyte Selaginella uncinata and the angiosperm Begonia pavonina. While much is known about the role of leaf pigment colour, the adaptive role of leaf iridescence is unknown. Hypotheses have been put forward including 1) iridescence acts as disruptive camouflage against herbivores 2) it enhances light sensing and capture in low light conditions 3) it is a photoprotective mechanism to protect shade-adapted plants against high light levels. These hypotheses are not mutually exclusive: each function may be of varying importance in different environments. To understand any one function, we need a interdisciplinary approach considering all three potential functions and their interactions. The objective of my research would be to test these hypotheses, using animal behavioural and plant physiological methods, to determine the functions of leaf iridescence and how the plant has adapted to the reflection of developmentally vital wavelengths. Use of molecular and bioinformatics methods will elucidate the genes that control the production of this potentially multifunctional optical phenomenon. This research will provide a pioneering study into the generation, developmental impact and adaptive significance of iridescence in leaves. It would also answer questions at the frontiers of several fields including those of plant evolution, insect vision, methods of camouflage, the generation and role of animal iridescence, and could also potentially inspire synthetic biomimetic applications.
Max ERC Funding
1 118 378 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2016-07-31
Project acronym CNTBBB
Project Targeting potential of carbon nanotubes at the blood brain barrier
Researcher (PI) Alexandra Elizabeth Porter
Host Institution (HI) IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE5, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary Targeted drug delivery across the blood brain barrier (BBB) to the central nervous system is a large challenge for the treatment of neurological disorders. This 4 year ERC program is aimed towards the evaluating the BBB penetration capacity and toxicological potential of novel carbon nanotube (CNT) carriers using an integrated multidisciplinary approach. State-of-art characterisation techniques developed by the PI will be applied and further developed to detect the interaction of carbon nanotubes with in vitro BBB model and neuronal cells. Specific aims:
1. Identify the mechanisms of translocation of CNT across the endothelial cells which comprise the BBB, as well as uptake by neuronal cells in vitro.
2. To investigate the effect of length, diameter and surface charge of CNTs on the BBB and neuronal cells penetration capacity in vitro.
3. To investigate the toxicological profile of CNT on the BBB and the various neuronal cell types (immortalised and primary neuronal cultures).
4. Develop protocols to assess whether the CNTs degrade inside the cell.
The ERC Grant will consolidate the new Research Group in nanomaterials-cell interfaces, and allow them to perform stimulating investigator-initiated frontier research in nanotoxicology and nanomedicine. To this end, a multi-disciplinary laboratory will be realized within the framework of this 4-year the ERC Programme. This will permit the group around the PI, to expand activities, push limits, create new boundaries, and develop new protocols for studying nanoparticle-cell interactions in close collaboration with ICL s Department of medicine and chemistry. Within the proposed program there is an underlying ambition both to gain a fundamental understanding for which parameters of CNTs determine their penetration capacity through the BBB and also to assess their toxicological potential at the BBB two highlighted themes by the ERC.
Summary
Targeted drug delivery across the blood brain barrier (BBB) to the central nervous system is a large challenge for the treatment of neurological disorders. This 4 year ERC program is aimed towards the evaluating the BBB penetration capacity and toxicological potential of novel carbon nanotube (CNT) carriers using an integrated multidisciplinary approach. State-of-art characterisation techniques developed by the PI will be applied and further developed to detect the interaction of carbon nanotubes with in vitro BBB model and neuronal cells. Specific aims:
1. Identify the mechanisms of translocation of CNT across the endothelial cells which comprise the BBB, as well as uptake by neuronal cells in vitro.
2. To investigate the effect of length, diameter and surface charge of CNTs on the BBB and neuronal cells penetration capacity in vitro.
3. To investigate the toxicological profile of CNT on the BBB and the various neuronal cell types (immortalised and primary neuronal cultures).
4. Develop protocols to assess whether the CNTs degrade inside the cell.
The ERC Grant will consolidate the new Research Group in nanomaterials-cell interfaces, and allow them to perform stimulating investigator-initiated frontier research in nanotoxicology and nanomedicine. To this end, a multi-disciplinary laboratory will be realized within the framework of this 4-year the ERC Programme. This will permit the group around the PI, to expand activities, push limits, create new boundaries, and develop new protocols for studying nanoparticle-cell interactions in close collaboration with ICL s Department of medicine and chemistry. Within the proposed program there is an underlying ambition both to gain a fundamental understanding for which parameters of CNTs determine their penetration capacity through the BBB and also to assess their toxicological potential at the BBB two highlighted themes by the ERC.
Max ERC Funding
1 229 998 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-02-01, End date: 2017-01-31
Project acronym COMPSELF
Project Self-Organisation: From Molecules to Matter
Researcher (PI) David John Wales
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE4, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary This research proposal concerns the theory and computer simulation of self-organisation to predict properties and to design systems with specified characteristics. The key computational challenge is to explore the energy landscape for complex systems and make predictions to characterise efficient self-organisation on experimental time and length scales. Novel methodology is required to overcome the problems of broken ergodicity and rare events. The theoretical framework exploits stationary points of the potential energy landscape to access the required time and length scales. Applications include self-assembly of mesoscopic structures from coarse-grained building blocks and all-atom simulations of conformational changes in specific proteins and nucleic acids.
We aim to establish design principles for efficient self-assembly by developing novel tools for visualising and exploration of the corresponding landscape. Here, a key issue is how the interactions between the constituent particles determine the organisation of the energy landscape. Identifying which features lead to successful self-assembly and which disrupt such ordering will lead to a wide range of important applications, ranging from design of new materials to identifying new anti-viral drugs. The same methodology will be applied to detailed models of specific biomolecules, where self-organisation into alternative structures is associated with disease. Global optimisation will be employed in structure prediction for variable pathogens, such as human influenza virus. Pathways for folding and misfolding of specific proteins and nucleic acids will be characterised using novel rare events methodology, providing insight into intermediates that could serve as potential drug targets.
Summary
This research proposal concerns the theory and computer simulation of self-organisation to predict properties and to design systems with specified characteristics. The key computational challenge is to explore the energy landscape for complex systems and make predictions to characterise efficient self-organisation on experimental time and length scales. Novel methodology is required to overcome the problems of broken ergodicity and rare events. The theoretical framework exploits stationary points of the potential energy landscape to access the required time and length scales. Applications include self-assembly of mesoscopic structures from coarse-grained building blocks and all-atom simulations of conformational changes in specific proteins and nucleic acids.
We aim to establish design principles for efficient self-assembly by developing novel tools for visualising and exploration of the corresponding landscape. Here, a key issue is how the interactions between the constituent particles determine the organisation of the energy landscape. Identifying which features lead to successful self-assembly and which disrupt such ordering will lead to a wide range of important applications, ranging from design of new materials to identifying new anti-viral drugs. The same methodology will be applied to detailed models of specific biomolecules, where self-organisation into alternative structures is associated with disease. Global optimisation will be employed in structure prediction for variable pathogens, such as human influenza virus. Pathways for folding and misfolding of specific proteins and nucleic acids will be characterised using novel rare events methodology, providing insight into intermediates that could serve as potential drug targets.
Max ERC Funding
2 069 374 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-03-01, End date: 2016-02-29
Project acronym DEVHEALTH
Project UNDERSTANDING HEALTH ACROSS THE LIFECOURSE:
AN INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH
Researcher (PI) James Joseph Heckman
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH1, ERC-2010-AdG_20100407
Summary This proposal seeks support for a research group led by James Heckman of the Geary Institute at University College Dublin to produce an integrated developmental approach to health that studies the origins and the evolution of health inequalities over the lifecourse and across generations, and the role played by cognition, personality, genes, and environments. Major experimental and nonexperimental international datasets will be analyzed. A practical guide to implementing related policy will be produced. We will build a science of human development that draws on, extends, and unites research on the biology and epidemiology of health disparities with medical economics and the economics of skill formation. The goal is to develop an integrated framework to jointly model the economic, social and biological mechanisms that produce the evolution and the intergenerational transmission of health and of the capabilities that foster health. The following tasks will be undertaken: (1) We will quantify the importance of early-life conditions in explaining the existence of health disparities across the lifecourse. (2) We will understand how health inequalities are transmitted across generations. (3) We will assess the health benefits from early childhood interventions. (4) We will examine the role of genes and environments in the aetiology and evolution of disease. (5) We will analyze how health inequalities emerge and evolve across the lifecourse. (6) We will give biological foundations to both our models and the health measures we will use. The proposed research will investigate causal channels for promoting health. It will compare the relative effectiveness of interventions at various stages of the life cycle and the benefits and costs of later remediation if early adversity is not adequately eliminated. It will guide the design of current and prospective experimental and longitudinal studies and policy formulation, and will train young scholars in frontier methods of research
Summary
This proposal seeks support for a research group led by James Heckman of the Geary Institute at University College Dublin to produce an integrated developmental approach to health that studies the origins and the evolution of health inequalities over the lifecourse and across generations, and the role played by cognition, personality, genes, and environments. Major experimental and nonexperimental international datasets will be analyzed. A practical guide to implementing related policy will be produced. We will build a science of human development that draws on, extends, and unites research on the biology and epidemiology of health disparities with medical economics and the economics of skill formation. The goal is to develop an integrated framework to jointly model the economic, social and biological mechanisms that produce the evolution and the intergenerational transmission of health and of the capabilities that foster health. The following tasks will be undertaken: (1) We will quantify the importance of early-life conditions in explaining the existence of health disparities across the lifecourse. (2) We will understand how health inequalities are transmitted across generations. (3) We will assess the health benefits from early childhood interventions. (4) We will examine the role of genes and environments in the aetiology and evolution of disease. (5) We will analyze how health inequalities emerge and evolve across the lifecourse. (6) We will give biological foundations to both our models and the health measures we will use. The proposed research will investigate causal channels for promoting health. It will compare the relative effectiveness of interventions at various stages of the life cycle and the benefits and costs of later remediation if early adversity is not adequately eliminated. It will guide the design of current and prospective experimental and longitudinal studies and policy formulation, and will train young scholars in frontier methods of research
Max ERC Funding
2 505 222 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-05-01, End date: 2016-04-30
Project acronym DIREVOLFUN
Project Directed Evolution of Function within Chemical Systems: Adaptive Capsules and Polymers
Researcher (PI) Jonathan Russell Nitschke
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE5, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary A signature trait of living systems is their ability to dynamically adjust to features of their environments, adapting to stay alive, and evolving to take better advantage of the resources in their environments. This proposed research aims to synthesise new chemical systems that are capable of adaptation and evolution, with the achievement of specified functions being used as the benchmarks by which we may be judged to have succeeded in setting the direction for our systems evolution. Two parallel lines of inquiry will be followed. First, we will build upon results that we have recently published in Science[1] to create a series of new molecular capsules that are capable of dynamically adapting to different guest molecules. These capsules will serve as sensors and as enzyme-like catalysts through the use of transition-state-analogue guests. Second, we will prepare new metal-containing conjugated polymers through self-assembly, which will be capable of dynamically exchanging building blocks in solution. These polymers will have potential applications as electrically-conductive materials, with functional properties that may be tuned and optimised by the application of evolutionary pressures.
The success of these studies will thus create novel materials with uses as self-assembled sensors, catalysts, and electrical conductors. We will also shed light upon the question of how chemical systems may be induced to evolve under selective pressure. These studies thus have long-term bearing upon the questions of how living systems evolved from pre-biological mixtures of molecules.
[1] P. Mal, B. Breiner, K. Rissanen, J.R. Nitschke, Science 2009, 324, 1697-1699.
Summary
A signature trait of living systems is their ability to dynamically adjust to features of their environments, adapting to stay alive, and evolving to take better advantage of the resources in their environments. This proposed research aims to synthesise new chemical systems that are capable of adaptation and evolution, with the achievement of specified functions being used as the benchmarks by which we may be judged to have succeeded in setting the direction for our systems evolution. Two parallel lines of inquiry will be followed. First, we will build upon results that we have recently published in Science[1] to create a series of new molecular capsules that are capable of dynamically adapting to different guest molecules. These capsules will serve as sensors and as enzyme-like catalysts through the use of transition-state-analogue guests. Second, we will prepare new metal-containing conjugated polymers through self-assembly, which will be capable of dynamically exchanging building blocks in solution. These polymers will have potential applications as electrically-conductive materials, with functional properties that may be tuned and optimised by the application of evolutionary pressures.
The success of these studies will thus create novel materials with uses as self-assembled sensors, catalysts, and electrical conductors. We will also shed light upon the question of how chemical systems may be induced to evolve under selective pressure. These studies thus have long-term bearing upon the questions of how living systems evolved from pre-biological mixtures of molecules.
[1] P. Mal, B. Breiner, K. Rissanen, J.R. Nitschke, Science 2009, 324, 1697-1699.
Max ERC Funding
1 357 006 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2016-12-31
Project acronym DIVERSITY
Project Evolution of Pathogen and Host Diversity
Researcher (PI) Sunetra Gupta
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS8, ERC-2010-AdG_20100317
Summary The study of host-pathogen systems is of central importance to the control of infectious disease, but also provides unique opportunities to observe evolution in action. Many pathogen species have diversified under selection pressures from the host; conversely, genes that are important in host defence also exhibit high degrees of polymorphism. This proposal divides into two parts: (1) the evolution of pathogen diversity under host immune selection, and (2) the evolution of host diversity under pathogen selection. I have developed a body of theoretical work showing that discrete population structures can arise through immune selection rather than limitations on genetic exchange. The predictions of this framework concerning the structure and dynamics of antigenic, metabolic and virulence genes will be empirically tested using three different systems: the bacterial pathogen, Neisseira meningitidis, the influenza virus, and the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. The current theory will also be expanded and modified to address a number of outstanding questions such whether it can explain the occurrence of influenza pandemics. With regard to host diversity, we will be attempting to validate and extend a novel framework incoporating epistatic interactions between malaria-protective genetic disorders of haemoglobin to understand their intriguing geographical distribution and their mode of action against the malarial disease. We will also be exploring the potential of mechanisms that can organise pathogens into discrete strains to generate patterns among host genes responsible for pathogen recognition, such as the Major Histocompatibility Complex. The co-evolution of hosts and pathogens under immune selection thus forms the ultimate theme of this proposal.
Summary
The study of host-pathogen systems is of central importance to the control of infectious disease, but also provides unique opportunities to observe evolution in action. Many pathogen species have diversified under selection pressures from the host; conversely, genes that are important in host defence also exhibit high degrees of polymorphism. This proposal divides into two parts: (1) the evolution of pathogen diversity under host immune selection, and (2) the evolution of host diversity under pathogen selection. I have developed a body of theoretical work showing that discrete population structures can arise through immune selection rather than limitations on genetic exchange. The predictions of this framework concerning the structure and dynamics of antigenic, metabolic and virulence genes will be empirically tested using three different systems: the bacterial pathogen, Neisseira meningitidis, the influenza virus, and the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. The current theory will also be expanded and modified to address a number of outstanding questions such whether it can explain the occurrence of influenza pandemics. With regard to host diversity, we will be attempting to validate and extend a novel framework incoporating epistatic interactions between malaria-protective genetic disorders of haemoglobin to understand their intriguing geographical distribution and their mode of action against the malarial disease. We will also be exploring the potential of mechanisms that can organise pathogens into discrete strains to generate patterns among host genes responsible for pathogen recognition, such as the Major Histocompatibility Complex. The co-evolution of hosts and pathogens under immune selection thus forms the ultimate theme of this proposal.
Max ERC Funding
1 670 632 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-06-01, End date: 2017-05-31
Project acronym ECOLIGHT
Project Ecological effects of light pollution
Researcher (PI) Kevin John Gaston
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS8, ERC-2010-AdG_20100317
Summary The last 100 years have seen the dramatic spread of an evolutionarily unprecedented environmental change. Across huge areas, the spatial patterns and temporal cycles of light and dark that have previously remained approximately constant have been disrupted by the introduction of artificial night-time lights. This raises major concerns, given that light and dark provide critical resources and environmental conditions for organisms and play key roles in their physiology, growth, behaviour and reproduction, including the entrainment of internal biological clocks to local time. Indeed, it has long been recognised that light pollution of the night is likely to have profound consequences for the structure and functioning of populations and communities. Nonetheless, empirical studies of these effects remain wanting. This project will bring about a step change in understanding of the ecological consequences of night-time light pollution, addressing the principal question: How does the experimental manipulation of artificial night-time light influence population abundance, species composition and community structure? This will be answered using linked experimental studies. The results will have wide ramifications for understanding of the influences of rapid environmental change on population and community structure and of measures by which these can best be ameliorated.
Summary
The last 100 years have seen the dramatic spread of an evolutionarily unprecedented environmental change. Across huge areas, the spatial patterns and temporal cycles of light and dark that have previously remained approximately constant have been disrupted by the introduction of artificial night-time lights. This raises major concerns, given that light and dark provide critical resources and environmental conditions for organisms and play key roles in their physiology, growth, behaviour and reproduction, including the entrainment of internal biological clocks to local time. Indeed, it has long been recognised that light pollution of the night is likely to have profound consequences for the structure and functioning of populations and communities. Nonetheless, empirical studies of these effects remain wanting. This project will bring about a step change in understanding of the ecological consequences of night-time light pollution, addressing the principal question: How does the experimental manipulation of artificial night-time light influence population abundance, species composition and community structure? This will be answered using linked experimental studies. The results will have wide ramifications for understanding of the influences of rapid environmental change on population and community structure and of measures by which these can best be ameliorated.
Max ERC Funding
1 600 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-05-01, End date: 2017-04-30
