Summary
Phytoplankton is responsible of almost the half of earth’s primary production. Among the different components of the phytoplankton, there is an important group of picosized green algae (between 0.8 and 3um), the Mamiellophyceae, that is ubiquitous in the sunlit ocean and can reach high abundances in coastal environments. The first population genomics study of the Mamiellophycean species Ostreococcus tauri, revealed indirect evidences of recombinant events and the presence of two different mating types (M+ and M-), which led to the description of these two mating types in another three Mamiellophycean species. However we do not know whether this candidate mating-type structure is conserved throughout earlier diverging Mamiellophyceaen lineages. Neither do we know the relative frequency of the two mating types in natural communities and which environmental factors influence mating and recombination. Therefore, the major aim of this proposal is to elucidate the evolution of mating types and the prevalence of recombination across natural populations in ecologically relevant phytoplanktonic species (Mamiellophyceae), including the estimation of environmental effects in mating. To address this, I will use a multidisciplinary approach taking advantage of an original set of genomic datasets (population genomics data, new genomic sequences and metagenomic data from natural communities) and experimental tools, which will allow me to contribute to solving an important knowledge gap in the life cycle of Mamiellophyceae. Specifically, I will focus in identifying the prevalence of recombination in two closely related species of Otreococcus, capture the ecology and evolution of mating types across Mamiellophyceae and detect the abiotic and biotic factors that affect mating in O. tauri. For the latter, I will take advantage of genetic transformation techniques to select recombinant cells.
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| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101066996 |
| Start date: | 17-10-2022 |
| End date: | 16-10-2024 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | - 211 754,00 Euro |
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Original description
Phytoplankton is responsible of almost the half of earth’s primary production. Among the different components of the phytoplankton, there is an important group of picosized green algae (between 0.8 and 3um), the Mamiellophyceae, that is ubiquitous in the sunlit ocean and can reach high abundances in coastal environments. The first population genomics study of the Mamiellophycean species Ostreococcus tauri, revealed indirect evidences of recombinant events and the presence of two different mating types (M+ and M-), which led to the description of these two mating types in another three Mamiellophycean species. However we do not know whether this candidate mating-type structure is conserved throughout earlier diverging Mamiellophyceaen lineages. Neither do we know the relative frequency of the two mating types in natural communities and which environmental factors influence mating and recombination. Therefore, the major aim of this proposal is to elucidate the evolution of mating types and the prevalence of recombination across natural populations in ecologically relevant phytoplanktonic species (Mamiellophyceae), including the estimation of environmental effects in mating. To address this, I will use a multidisciplinary approach taking advantage of an original set of genomic datasets (population genomics data, new genomic sequences and metagenomic data from natural communities) and experimental tools, which will allow me to contribute to solving an important knowledge gap in the life cycle of Mamiellophyceae. Specifically, I will focus in identifying the prevalence of recombination in two closely related species of Otreococcus, capture the ecology and evolution of mating types across Mamiellophyceae and detect the abiotic and biotic factors that affect mating in O. tauri. For the latter, I will take advantage of genetic transformation techniques to select recombinant cells.Status
SIGNEDCall topic
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01-01Update Date
09-02-2023
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