H2020Индивидуална стипендия2020–2023

DIFFER · Determinants of genetic diversity: Important Factors For Ecosystem Resilience

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2020-10-01 → 2023-09-30
Финансиране от ЕС: 304 724 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Генетичното разнообразие и факторите, които го определят, като например скоростта на мутациите в ДНК. Разбирането на тези процеси помага за по-доброто управление на екосистемите и оцеляването на видовете при променяща се среда.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Determinants of genetic diversity: Important Factors For Ecosystem Resilience

Human activities and the effects of climate change are causing a significant loss of biodiversity, which is having negative impacts on ecosystems. The underlying basis of all biodiversity is genetic diversity – the variation of DNA sequences among individuals. Maintaining genetic diversity is thus crucial for the survival and reproduction of organisms, especially in the face of changing environments. The most direct source of all genetic diversity are germline mutations. However, we don't fully understand how the rate of these mutations varies between different species and how this variation affects genetic diversity. There are other factors at play as well, like the size of a population, natural selection, how genes are reshuffled, an organism's life history, and the size of its genome. All of these factors can influence genetic diversity. In my research project I thoroughly examined the role of these potential determinants of genetic diversity, with the aim of identifying the main determinants of genetic diversity. In conclusion, I found correlations of life history traits and the ecological niche with genetic diversity. Importantly, I found highly variable mutation rates that are positively correlated with heterozygosity, indicating their contribution to genetic diversity and species richness. These results help us to better understand how organisms and their mutation rates evolve. It also gives us new insights into how to manage genetic diversity in ecosystems.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Genetic diversity – that is, the genomic variation among individuals of a given species – is pivotal for adaptation to environmental alterations and an important factor for ecosystem resilience. Yet, the determinants of genetic diversity remain poorly understood. Population size is often used as a proxy for genetic diversity, but the amount of genetic variation within populations is not always reflected by their population size. Instead, factors such as linked selection, the recombination-, mutation-, and speciation rate, or life history and ecological traits may be more strongly connected to genetic diversity. So far, the interplay of all these parameters has not been empirically investigated, so that their relative contributions to genetic diversity are unknown.In DIFFER!, I propose to thoroughly examine the role of all these potential determinants of genetic diversity by means of combining cutting-edge genomic techniques with a highly suitable model system: the more than 200 endemic cichlid fish species of the East African Lake Tanganyika. Owing to their great morphological and behavioral variation, contrasting speciation rates, and their recent radiation, these fishes offer an ideal framework for comparative analyses. Availability of long-read reference assemblies, recombination maps, a massive dataset of underwater photographs for estimating census population sizes, together with population sequencing of selected species and family-based ‘trio’ sequencing will enable me to investigate specifically the interplay between genetic diversity and (i) life history and ecological traits, (ii) speciation and hybridization rates, and (iii) mutation rates, while at the same time controlling for variation in population size, selection, and recombination.The results of this project will contribute towards the understanding of organismal evolution and provide a new basis for the evaluation of genetic diversity in ecosystem management.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

UNIVERSITAT BASEL · BaselКоординаторШвейцария