Project acronym 19TH-CENTURY_EUCLID
Project Nineteenth-Century Euclid: Geometry and the Literary Imagination from Wordsworth to Wells
Researcher (PI) Alice Jenkins
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH4, ERC-2007-StG
Summary This radically interdisciplinary project aims to bring a substantially new field of research – literature and mathematics studies – to prominence as a tool for investigating the culture of nineteenth-century Britain. It will result in three kinds of outcome: a monograph, two interdisciplinary and international colloquia, and a collection of essays. The project focuses on Euclidean geometry as a key element of nineteenth-century literary and scientific culture, showing that it was part of the shared knowledge flowing through elite and popular Romantic and Victorian writing, and figuring notably in the work of very many of the century’s best-known writers. Despite its traditional cultural prestige and educational centrality, geometry has been almost wholly neglected by literary history. This project shows how literature and mathematics studies can draw a new map of nineteenth-century British culture, revitalising our understanding of the Romantic and Victorian imagination through its writing about geometry.
Summary
This radically interdisciplinary project aims to bring a substantially new field of research – literature and mathematics studies – to prominence as a tool for investigating the culture of nineteenth-century Britain. It will result in three kinds of outcome: a monograph, two interdisciplinary and international colloquia, and a collection of essays. The project focuses on Euclidean geometry as a key element of nineteenth-century literary and scientific culture, showing that it was part of the shared knowledge flowing through elite and popular Romantic and Victorian writing, and figuring notably in the work of very many of the century’s best-known writers. Despite its traditional cultural prestige and educational centrality, geometry has been almost wholly neglected by literary history. This project shows how literature and mathematics studies can draw a new map of nineteenth-century British culture, revitalising our understanding of the Romantic and Victorian imagination through its writing about geometry.
Max ERC Funding
323 118 €
Duration
Start date: 2009-01-01, End date: 2011-10-31
Project acronym 3CBIOTECH
Project Cold Carbon Catabolism of Microbial Communities underprinning a Sustainable Bioenergy and Biorefinery Economy
Researcher (PI) Gavin James Collins
Host Institution (HI) NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND GALWAY
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS9, ERC-2010-StG_20091118
Summary The applicant will collaborate with Irish, European and U.S.-based colleagues to develop a sustainable biorefinery and bioenergy industry in Ireland and Europe. The focus of this ERC Starting Grant will be the application of classical microbiological, physiological and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays, to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize microbial communities underpinning novel and innovative, low-temperature, anaerobic waste (and other biomass) conversion technologies, including municipal wastewater treatment and, demonstration- and full-scale biorefinery applications.
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a naturally-occurring process, which is widely applied for the conversion of waste to methane-containing biogas. Low-temperature (<20 degrees C) AD has been applied by the applicant as a cost-effective alternative to mesophilic (c. 35C) AD for the treatment of several waste categories. However, the microbiology of low-temperature AD is poorly understood. The applicant will work with microbial consortia isolated from anaerobic bioreactors, which have been operated for long-term experiments (>3.5 years), and include organic acid-oxidizing, hydrogen-producing syntrophic microbes and hydrogen-consuming methanogens. A major focus of the project will be the ecophysiology of psychrotolerant and psychrophilic methanogens already identified and cultivated by the applicant. The project will also investigate the role(s) of poorly-understood Crenarchaeota populations and homoacetogenic bacteria, in complex consortia. The host organization is a leading player in the microbiology of waste-to-energy applications. The applicant will train a team of scientists in all aspects of the microbiology and bioengineering of biomass conversion systems.
Summary
The applicant will collaborate with Irish, European and U.S.-based colleagues to develop a sustainable biorefinery and bioenergy industry in Ireland and Europe. The focus of this ERC Starting Grant will be the application of classical microbiological, physiological and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays, to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize microbial communities underpinning novel and innovative, low-temperature, anaerobic waste (and other biomass) conversion technologies, including municipal wastewater treatment and, demonstration- and full-scale biorefinery applications.
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a naturally-occurring process, which is widely applied for the conversion of waste to methane-containing biogas. Low-temperature (<20 degrees C) AD has been applied by the applicant as a cost-effective alternative to mesophilic (c. 35C) AD for the treatment of several waste categories. However, the microbiology of low-temperature AD is poorly understood. The applicant will work with microbial consortia isolated from anaerobic bioreactors, which have been operated for long-term experiments (>3.5 years), and include organic acid-oxidizing, hydrogen-producing syntrophic microbes and hydrogen-consuming methanogens. A major focus of the project will be the ecophysiology of psychrotolerant and psychrophilic methanogens already identified and cultivated by the applicant. The project will also investigate the role(s) of poorly-understood Crenarchaeota populations and homoacetogenic bacteria, in complex consortia. The host organization is a leading player in the microbiology of waste-to-energy applications. The applicant will train a team of scientists in all aspects of the microbiology and bioengineering of biomass conversion systems.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 797 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-05-01, End date: 2016-04-30
Project acronym AAMDDR
Project DNA damage response and genome stability: The role of ATM, ATR and the Mre11 complex
Researcher (PI) Vincenzo Costanzo
Host Institution (HI) CANCER RESEARCH UK LBG
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS1, ERC-2007-StG
Summary Chromosomal DNA is continuously subjected to exogenous and endogenous damaging insults. In the presence of DNA damage cells activate a multi-faceted checkpoint response that delays cell cycle progression and promotes DNA repair. Failures in this response lead to genomic instability, the main feature of cancer cells. Several cancer-prone human syndromes including the Ataxia teleangiectasia (A-T), the A-T Like Disorder (ATLD) and the Seckel Syndrome reflect defects in the specific genes of the DNA damage response such as ATM, MRE11 and ATR. DNA damage response pathways are poorly understood at biochemical level in vertebrate organisms. We have established a cell-free system based on Xenopus laevis egg extract to study molecular events underlying DNA damage response. This is the first in vitro system that recapitulates different aspects of the DNA damage response in vertebrates. Using this system we propose to study the biochemistry of the ATM, ATR and the Mre11 complex dependent DNA damage response. In particular we will: 1) Dissect the signal transduction pathway that senses DNA damage and promotes cell cycle arrest and DNA damage repair; 2) Analyze at molecular level the role of ATM, ATR, Mre11 in chromosomal DNA replication and mitosis during normal and stressful conditions; 3) Identify substrates of the ATM and ATR dependent DNA damage response using an innovative screening procedure.
Summary
Chromosomal DNA is continuously subjected to exogenous and endogenous damaging insults. In the presence of DNA damage cells activate a multi-faceted checkpoint response that delays cell cycle progression and promotes DNA repair. Failures in this response lead to genomic instability, the main feature of cancer cells. Several cancer-prone human syndromes including the Ataxia teleangiectasia (A-T), the A-T Like Disorder (ATLD) and the Seckel Syndrome reflect defects in the specific genes of the DNA damage response such as ATM, MRE11 and ATR. DNA damage response pathways are poorly understood at biochemical level in vertebrate organisms. We have established a cell-free system based on Xenopus laevis egg extract to study molecular events underlying DNA damage response. This is the first in vitro system that recapitulates different aspects of the DNA damage response in vertebrates. Using this system we propose to study the biochemistry of the ATM, ATR and the Mre11 complex dependent DNA damage response. In particular we will: 1) Dissect the signal transduction pathway that senses DNA damage and promotes cell cycle arrest and DNA damage repair; 2) Analyze at molecular level the role of ATM, ATR, Mre11 in chromosomal DNA replication and mitosis during normal and stressful conditions; 3) Identify substrates of the ATM and ATR dependent DNA damage response using an innovative screening procedure.
Max ERC Funding
1 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-07-01, End date: 2013-06-30
Project acronym ABLASE
Project Advanced Bioderived and Biocompatible Lasers
Researcher (PI) Malte Christian Gather
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE3, ERC-2014-STG
Summary Naturally occurring optical phenomena attract great attention and transform our ability to study biological processes, with “the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein (GFP)” (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008) being a particularly successful example. Although found only in very few species in nature, most organisms can be genetically programmed to produce the brightly fluorescent GFP molecules. Combined with modern fluorescence detection schemes, this has led to entirely new ways of monitoring biological processes. The applicant now demonstrated a biological laser – a completely novel, living source of coherent light based on a single biological cell bioengineered to produce GFP. Such a laser is intrinsically biocompatible, thus offering unique properties not shared by any existing laser. However, the physical processes involved in lasing from GFP remain poorly understood and so far biological lasers rely on bulky, impractical external resonators for optical feedback. Within this project, the applicant and his team will develop for the first time an understanding of stimulated emission in GFP and related proteins and create an unprecedented stand-alone single-cell biolaser based on intracellular optical feedback. These lasers will be deployed as microscopic and biocompatible imaging probes, thus opening in vivo microscopy to dense wavelength-multiplexing and enabling unmatched sensing of biomolecules and mechanical pressure. The evolutionarily evolved nano-structure of GFP will also enable novel ways of studying strong light-matter coupling and will bio-inspire advances of synthetic emitters. The proposed project is inter-disciplinary by its very nature, bridging photonics, genetic engineering and material science. The applicant’s previous pioneering work and synergies with work on other lasers developed at the applicant’s host institution provide an exclusive competitive edge. ERC support would transform this into a truly novel field of research.
Summary
Naturally occurring optical phenomena attract great attention and transform our ability to study biological processes, with “the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein (GFP)” (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008) being a particularly successful example. Although found only in very few species in nature, most organisms can be genetically programmed to produce the brightly fluorescent GFP molecules. Combined with modern fluorescence detection schemes, this has led to entirely new ways of monitoring biological processes. The applicant now demonstrated a biological laser – a completely novel, living source of coherent light based on a single biological cell bioengineered to produce GFP. Such a laser is intrinsically biocompatible, thus offering unique properties not shared by any existing laser. However, the physical processes involved in lasing from GFP remain poorly understood and so far biological lasers rely on bulky, impractical external resonators for optical feedback. Within this project, the applicant and his team will develop for the first time an understanding of stimulated emission in GFP and related proteins and create an unprecedented stand-alone single-cell biolaser based on intracellular optical feedback. These lasers will be deployed as microscopic and biocompatible imaging probes, thus opening in vivo microscopy to dense wavelength-multiplexing and enabling unmatched sensing of biomolecules and mechanical pressure. The evolutionarily evolved nano-structure of GFP will also enable novel ways of studying strong light-matter coupling and will bio-inspire advances of synthetic emitters. The proposed project is inter-disciplinary by its very nature, bridging photonics, genetic engineering and material science. The applicant’s previous pioneering work and synergies with work on other lasers developed at the applicant’s host institution provide an exclusive competitive edge. ERC support would transform this into a truly novel field of research.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 875 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-06-01, End date: 2020-05-31
Project acronym ACCORD
Project Algorithms for Complex Collective Decisions on Structured Domains
Researcher (PI) Edith Elkind
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE6, ERC-2014-STG
Summary Algorithms for Complex Collective Decisions on Structured Domains.
The aim of this proposal is to substantially advance the field of Computational Social Choice, by developing new tools and methodologies that can be used for making complex group decisions in rich and structured environments. We consider settings where each member of a decision-making body has preferences over a finite set of alternatives, and the goal is to synthesise a collective preference over these alternatives, which may take the form of a partial order over the set of alternatives with a predefined structure: examples include selecting a fixed-size set of alternatives, a ranking of the alternatives, a winner and up to two runner-ups, etc. We will formulate desiderata that apply to such preference aggregation procedures, design specific procedures that satisfy as many of these desiderata as possible, and develop efficient algorithms for computing them. As the latter step may be infeasible on general preference domains, we will focus on identifying the least restrictive domains that enable efficient computation, and use real-life preference data to verify whether the associated restrictions are likely to be satisfied in realistic preference aggregation scenarios. Also, we will determine whether our preference aggregation procedures are computationally resistant to malicious behavior. To lower the cognitive burden on the decision-makers, we will extend our procedures to accept partial rankings as inputs. Finally, to further contribute towards bridging the gap between theory and practice of collective decision making, we will provide open-source software implementations of our procedures, and reach out to the potential users to obtain feedback on their practical applicability.
Summary
Algorithms for Complex Collective Decisions on Structured Domains.
The aim of this proposal is to substantially advance the field of Computational Social Choice, by developing new tools and methodologies that can be used for making complex group decisions in rich and structured environments. We consider settings where each member of a decision-making body has preferences over a finite set of alternatives, and the goal is to synthesise a collective preference over these alternatives, which may take the form of a partial order over the set of alternatives with a predefined structure: examples include selecting a fixed-size set of alternatives, a ranking of the alternatives, a winner and up to two runner-ups, etc. We will formulate desiderata that apply to such preference aggregation procedures, design specific procedures that satisfy as many of these desiderata as possible, and develop efficient algorithms for computing them. As the latter step may be infeasible on general preference domains, we will focus on identifying the least restrictive domains that enable efficient computation, and use real-life preference data to verify whether the associated restrictions are likely to be satisfied in realistic preference aggregation scenarios. Also, we will determine whether our preference aggregation procedures are computationally resistant to malicious behavior. To lower the cognitive burden on the decision-makers, we will extend our procedures to accept partial rankings as inputs. Finally, to further contribute towards bridging the gap between theory and practice of collective decision making, we will provide open-source software implementations of our procedures, and reach out to the potential users to obtain feedback on their practical applicability.
Max ERC Funding
1 395 933 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-07-01, End date: 2020-06-30
Project acronym ACHILLES-HEEL
Project Crop resistance improvement by mining natural and induced variation in host accessibility factors
Researcher (PI) Sebastian Schornack
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS9, ERC-2014-STG
Summary Increasing crop yield to feed the world is a grand challenge of the 21st century but it is hampered by diseases caused by filamentous plant pathogens. The arms race between pathogen and plant demands constant adjustment of crop germplasm to tackle emerging pathogen races with new virulence features. To date, most crop disease resistance has relied on specific resistance genes that are effective only against a subset of races. We cannot solely rely on classical resistance genes to keep ahead of the pathogens. There is an urgent need to develop approaches based on knowledge of the pathogen’s Achilles heel: core plant processes that are required for pathogen colonization.
Our hypothesis is that disease resistance based on manipulation of host accessibility processes has a higher probability for durability, and is best identified using a broad host-range pathogen. I will employ the filamentous pathogen Phytophthora palmivora to mine plant alleles and unravel host processes providing microbial access in roots and leaves of monocot and dicot plants.
In Aim 1 I will utilize plant symbiosis mutants and allelic variation to elucidate general mechanisms of colonization by filamentous microbes. Importantly, allelic variation will be studied in economically relevant barley and wheat to allow immediate translation into breeding programs.
In Aim 2 I will perform a comparative study of microbial colonization in monocot and dicot roots and leaves. Transcriptional profiling of pathogen and plant will highlight common and contrasting principles and illustrate the impact of differential plant anatomies.
We will challenge our findings by testing beneficial fungi to assess commonalities and differences between mutualist and pathogen colonization. We will use genetics, cell biology and genomics to find suitable resistance alleles highly relevant to crop production and global food security. At the completion of the project, I expect to have a set of genes for resistance breeding.
Summary
Increasing crop yield to feed the world is a grand challenge of the 21st century but it is hampered by diseases caused by filamentous plant pathogens. The arms race between pathogen and plant demands constant adjustment of crop germplasm to tackle emerging pathogen races with new virulence features. To date, most crop disease resistance has relied on specific resistance genes that are effective only against a subset of races. We cannot solely rely on classical resistance genes to keep ahead of the pathogens. There is an urgent need to develop approaches based on knowledge of the pathogen’s Achilles heel: core plant processes that are required for pathogen colonization.
Our hypothesis is that disease resistance based on manipulation of host accessibility processes has a higher probability for durability, and is best identified using a broad host-range pathogen. I will employ the filamentous pathogen Phytophthora palmivora to mine plant alleles and unravel host processes providing microbial access in roots and leaves of monocot and dicot plants.
In Aim 1 I will utilize plant symbiosis mutants and allelic variation to elucidate general mechanisms of colonization by filamentous microbes. Importantly, allelic variation will be studied in economically relevant barley and wheat to allow immediate translation into breeding programs.
In Aim 2 I will perform a comparative study of microbial colonization in monocot and dicot roots and leaves. Transcriptional profiling of pathogen and plant will highlight common and contrasting principles and illustrate the impact of differential plant anatomies.
We will challenge our findings by testing beneficial fungi to assess commonalities and differences between mutualist and pathogen colonization. We will use genetics, cell biology and genomics to find suitable resistance alleles highly relevant to crop production and global food security. At the completion of the project, I expect to have a set of genes for resistance breeding.
Max ERC Funding
1 991 054 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
Project acronym ACTSELECTCONTEXT
Project Action Selection under Contextual Uncertainty: the Role of Learning and Effective Connectivity in the Human Brain
Researcher (PI) Sven Bestmann
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2010-StG_20091118
Summary In a changing world, one hallmark feature of human behaviour is the ability to learn about the statistics of the environment and use this prior information for action selection. Knowing about a forthcoming event allows for adjusting our actions pre-emptively, which can optimize survival.
This proposal studies how the human brain learns about the uncertainty in the environment, and how this leads to flexible and efficient action selection.
I hypothesise that the accumulation of evidence for future movements through learning reflects a fundamental organisational principle for action control. This explains widely distributed perceptual-, learning-, decision-, and movement-related signals in the human brain. However, little is known about the concerted interplay between brain regions in terms of effective connectivity which is required for flexible behaviour.
My proposal seeks to shed light on this unresolved issue. To this end, I will use i) a multi-disciplinary neuroimaging approach, together with model-based analyses and Bayesian model comparison, adapted to human reaching behaviour as occurring in daily life; and ii) two novel approaches for testing effective connectivity: dynamic causal modelling (DCM) and concurrent transcranial magnetic stimulation-functional magnetic resonance imaging.
My prediction is that action selection relies on effective connectivity changes, which are a function of the prior information that the brain has to learn about.
If true, this will provide novel insight into the human ability to select actions, based on learning about the uncertainty which is inherent in contextual information. This is relevant for understanding action selection during development and ageing, and for pathologies of action such as Parkinson s disease or stroke.
Summary
In a changing world, one hallmark feature of human behaviour is the ability to learn about the statistics of the environment and use this prior information for action selection. Knowing about a forthcoming event allows for adjusting our actions pre-emptively, which can optimize survival.
This proposal studies how the human brain learns about the uncertainty in the environment, and how this leads to flexible and efficient action selection.
I hypothesise that the accumulation of evidence for future movements through learning reflects a fundamental organisational principle for action control. This explains widely distributed perceptual-, learning-, decision-, and movement-related signals in the human brain. However, little is known about the concerted interplay between brain regions in terms of effective connectivity which is required for flexible behaviour.
My proposal seeks to shed light on this unresolved issue. To this end, I will use i) a multi-disciplinary neuroimaging approach, together with model-based analyses and Bayesian model comparison, adapted to human reaching behaviour as occurring in daily life; and ii) two novel approaches for testing effective connectivity: dynamic causal modelling (DCM) and concurrent transcranial magnetic stimulation-functional magnetic resonance imaging.
My prediction is that action selection relies on effective connectivity changes, which are a function of the prior information that the brain has to learn about.
If true, this will provide novel insight into the human ability to select actions, based on learning about the uncertainty which is inherent in contextual information. This is relevant for understanding action selection during development and ageing, and for pathologies of action such as Parkinson s disease or stroke.
Max ERC Funding
1 341 805 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-06-01, End date: 2016-05-31
Project acronym ADaPTIVE
Project Analysing Diversity with a Phenomic approach: Trends in Vertebrate Evolution
Researcher (PI) Anjali Goswami
Host Institution (HI) NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS8, ERC-2014-STG
Summary What processes shape vertebrate diversity through deep time? Approaches to this question can focus on many different factors, from life history and ecology to large-scale environmental change and extinction. To date, the majority of studies on the evolution of vertebrate diversity have focused on relatively simple metrics, specifically taxon counts or univariate measures, such as body size. However, multivariate morphological data provides a more complete picture of evolutionary and palaeoecological change. Morphological data can also bridge deep-time palaeobiological analyses with studies of the genetic and developmental factors that shape variation and must also influence large-scale patterns of evolutionary change. Thus, accurately reconstructing the patterns and processes underlying evolution requires an approach that can fully represent an organism’s phenome, the sum total of their observable traits.
Recent advances in imaging and data analysis allow large-scale study of phenomic evolution. In this project, I propose to quantitatively analyse the deep-time evolutionary diversity of tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals). Specifically, I will apply and extend new imaging, morphometric, and analytical tools to construct a multivariate phenomic dataset for living and extinct tetrapods from 3-D scans. I will use these data to rigorously compare extinction selectivity, timing, pace, and shape of adaptive radiations, and ecomorphological response to large-scale climatic shifts across all tetrapod clades. To do so, I will quantify morphological diversity (disparity) and rates of evolution spanning over 300 million years of tetrapod history. I will further analyse the evolution of phenotypic integration by quantifying not just the traits themselves, but changes in the relationships among traits, which reflect the genetic, developmental, and functional interactions that shape variation, the raw material for natural selection.
Summary
What processes shape vertebrate diversity through deep time? Approaches to this question can focus on many different factors, from life history and ecology to large-scale environmental change and extinction. To date, the majority of studies on the evolution of vertebrate diversity have focused on relatively simple metrics, specifically taxon counts or univariate measures, such as body size. However, multivariate morphological data provides a more complete picture of evolutionary and palaeoecological change. Morphological data can also bridge deep-time palaeobiological analyses with studies of the genetic and developmental factors that shape variation and must also influence large-scale patterns of evolutionary change. Thus, accurately reconstructing the patterns and processes underlying evolution requires an approach that can fully represent an organism’s phenome, the sum total of their observable traits.
Recent advances in imaging and data analysis allow large-scale study of phenomic evolution. In this project, I propose to quantitatively analyse the deep-time evolutionary diversity of tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals). Specifically, I will apply and extend new imaging, morphometric, and analytical tools to construct a multivariate phenomic dataset for living and extinct tetrapods from 3-D scans. I will use these data to rigorously compare extinction selectivity, timing, pace, and shape of adaptive radiations, and ecomorphological response to large-scale climatic shifts across all tetrapod clades. To do so, I will quantify morphological diversity (disparity) and rates of evolution spanning over 300 million years of tetrapod history. I will further analyse the evolution of phenotypic integration by quantifying not just the traits themselves, but changes in the relationships among traits, which reflect the genetic, developmental, and functional interactions that shape variation, the raw material for natural selection.
Max ERC Funding
1 482 818 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-06-01, End date: 2020-05-31
Project acronym ADNABIOARC
Project From the earliest modern humans to the onset of farming (45,000-4,500 BP): the role of climate, life-style, health, migration and selection in shaping European population history
Researcher (PI) Ron Pinhasi
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH6, ERC-2010-StG_20091209
Summary The colonisation of Europe by anatomically modern humans (AMHs) ca. 45,000 years before present (BP) and the transition to farming ca. 8,000 BP are two major events in human prehistory. Both events involved certain cultural and biological adaptations, technological innovations, and behavioural plasticity which are unique to our species. The reconstruction of these processes and the causality between them has so far remained elusive due to technological, methodological and logistical complexities. Major developments in our understanding of the anthropology of the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic, and advances in ancient DNA (aDNA) technology and chronometric methods now allow us to assess in sufficient resolution the interface between these evolutionary processes, and changes in human culture and behaviour.
The proposed research will investigate the complex interface between the morphological, genetic, behavioural, and cultural factors that shaped the population history of European AMHs. The PI s interdisciplinary expertise in these areas, his access to and experience of relevant skeletal collections, and his ongoing European collaborations will allow significant progress in addressing these fundamental questions. The approach taken will include (a) the collection of bioarchaeological, aDNA, stable isotope (for the analysis of ancient diet) and radiometric data on 500 skeletons from key sites/phases in Europe and western Anatolia, and (b) the application of existing and novel aDNA, bioarchaeological and simulation methodologies. This research will yield results that transform our current understanding of major demographic and evolutionary processes and will place Europe at the forefront of anthropological biological and genetic research.
Summary
The colonisation of Europe by anatomically modern humans (AMHs) ca. 45,000 years before present (BP) and the transition to farming ca. 8,000 BP are two major events in human prehistory. Both events involved certain cultural and biological adaptations, technological innovations, and behavioural plasticity which are unique to our species. The reconstruction of these processes and the causality between them has so far remained elusive due to technological, methodological and logistical complexities. Major developments in our understanding of the anthropology of the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic, and advances in ancient DNA (aDNA) technology and chronometric methods now allow us to assess in sufficient resolution the interface between these evolutionary processes, and changes in human culture and behaviour.
The proposed research will investigate the complex interface between the morphological, genetic, behavioural, and cultural factors that shaped the population history of European AMHs. The PI s interdisciplinary expertise in these areas, his access to and experience of relevant skeletal collections, and his ongoing European collaborations will allow significant progress in addressing these fundamental questions. The approach taken will include (a) the collection of bioarchaeological, aDNA, stable isotope (for the analysis of ancient diet) and radiometric data on 500 skeletons from key sites/phases in Europe and western Anatolia, and (b) the application of existing and novel aDNA, bioarchaeological and simulation methodologies. This research will yield results that transform our current understanding of major demographic and evolutionary processes and will place Europe at the forefront of anthropological biological and genetic research.
Max ERC Funding
1 088 386 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31
Project acronym ALH
Project Alternative life histories: linking genes to phenotypes to demography
Researcher (PI) Thomas Eric Reed
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK - NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, CORK
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS8, ERC-2014-STG
Summary Understanding how and why individuals develop strikingly different life histories is a major goal in evolutionary biology. It is also a prerequisite for conserving important biodiversity within species and predicting the impacts of environmental change on populations. The aim of my study is to examine a key threshold phenotypic trait (alternative migratory tactics) in a series of large scale laboratory and field experiments, integrating several previously independent perspectives from evolutionary ecology, ecophysiology and genomics, to produce a downstream predictive model. My chosen study species, the brown trout Salmo trutta, has an extensive history of genetic and experimental work and exhibits ‘partial migration’: individuals either migrate to sea (‘sea trout’) or remain in freshwater their whole lives. Recent advances in molecular parentage assignment, quantitative genetics and genomics (next generation sequencing and bioinformatics) will allow unprecedented insight into how alternative life history phenotypes are moulded by the interaction between genes and environment. To provide additional mechanistic understanding of these processes, the balance between metabolic requirements during growth and available extrinsic resources will be investigated as the major physiological driver of migratory behaviour. Together these results will be used to develop a predictive model to explore the consequences of rapid environmental change, accounting for the effects of genetics and environment on phenotype and on population demographics. In addition to their value for conservation and management of an iconic and key species in European freshwaters and coastal seas, these results will generate novel insight into the evolution of migratory behaviour generally, providing a text book example of how alternative life histories are shaped and maintained in wild populations.
Summary
Understanding how and why individuals develop strikingly different life histories is a major goal in evolutionary biology. It is also a prerequisite for conserving important biodiversity within species and predicting the impacts of environmental change on populations. The aim of my study is to examine a key threshold phenotypic trait (alternative migratory tactics) in a series of large scale laboratory and field experiments, integrating several previously independent perspectives from evolutionary ecology, ecophysiology and genomics, to produce a downstream predictive model. My chosen study species, the brown trout Salmo trutta, has an extensive history of genetic and experimental work and exhibits ‘partial migration’: individuals either migrate to sea (‘sea trout’) or remain in freshwater their whole lives. Recent advances in molecular parentage assignment, quantitative genetics and genomics (next generation sequencing and bioinformatics) will allow unprecedented insight into how alternative life history phenotypes are moulded by the interaction between genes and environment. To provide additional mechanistic understanding of these processes, the balance between metabolic requirements during growth and available extrinsic resources will be investigated as the major physiological driver of migratory behaviour. Together these results will be used to develop a predictive model to explore the consequences of rapid environmental change, accounting for the effects of genetics and environment on phenotype and on population demographics. In addition to their value for conservation and management of an iconic and key species in European freshwaters and coastal seas, these results will generate novel insight into the evolution of migratory behaviour generally, providing a text book example of how alternative life histories are shaped and maintained in wild populations.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 202 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-05-01, End date: 2020-04-30
