New frontiers projects

New Frontiers projects are selected by the TULIP International Scientific Board through an annual call. "New Frontiers" refer to projects that are beyond the usual boundaries of our current research bringing new theoretical and conceptual approaches, or developing new methodological approaches. The innovative nature of these projects involves in particular the notion of risk-taking.

An annual budget of 150 k €/year is dedicated to this call for projects and can be used for all expenses: operation, subcontracting, missions, conferences, staff. Equipment investments only are not possible. Few projects are selected (2 to 5 projects maximum) in order to reach a good level of financing per project, the duration of which can be one or two years maximum. This call opened in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022, it already allowed to financially support 23 projects after selection made by our International Scientific Board (ISB).

>>  Call for Projects "New Frontiers for INTERFACE" 2022-2023 CLOSED  <

New Frontiers Interface

Project applicant - Unit

Project title

Partners

Christophe Roux -LRSV

ELICOS : Ecological functions and interactions of leaf and LItter COmmunities dispersed by Streams

Mélanie Roy - IFAECI
& Monique Gardes -CRBE

Elodie Gaulin - LRSV

DispOOM : Dipersal in an OOMycete soilborne pathogen

Delphine Legrand - SETE

Simon Blanchet - SETE

FUNCEE : Phylogenetically-conserved candidate genes as a novel approach for unifying biodiversityecosystem function relationships and eco-evolutionary dynamics across biological scales

Géraldine Loot - CRBE
& Pierre-Marc Delaux - LRSV

Philippe Remigi - LIPME

HORIZON : Functional integration of horizontally-transferred genes into bacterial genomes: nitrogen-fixing symbiosis in beta-rhizobia as a case study

Eduardo Rocha - MEG, Institut Pasteur

Alexis Chaine - SETE

The GENetic architecture and gene function underlying variation in COGnition of wild birds from contrasting environment

Charles Perrier - CBGP

Nicolas Brucato - CRBE

MICROPAP : Coevolution of the human genome, microbiome and diet in a tropical region

Laura Weyrich - MicroArch lab, Penn State University

Year 2022-2023

Project applicant

Project title

Unit

Lisa Jacquin and Joël White

MICROPOLL :  Pollution and multistress effects on fish‐microbiota interactions : from molecules to  populations

EDB

Staffan Jacob, Delphine Legrand and Lucie Zinger

PhenoChoice : Phenotypic plasticity and habitat choice in a fluctuating world: merging microcosms and nature

SETE

Arnaud Lagroce and Marie-Agnès Travers

EpiVib : Deciphering epigenetic and transcriptomic regulations in the oyster pathogen Vibrio aestarianus

IHPE

Artemis Perraki

RE-HEAT : How does receptor signalling respond to heat stress in the tapetum?

LRSV

Caroline Baroukh

ROP3 : Role Of Putrescine and 3-hydroxybutyrate in the pathogenicity of R. solanacearum

LIPME

Year 2020-2021-2022

Project applicant

Project title

Unit

Jean-Marc Deragon

Exploring how tRNA and rRNA epitranscriptomic status impact short and long-term heat stress memory using Arabidopsis natural populations

LGDP

Grégory Vert and Christophe Roux

Can plants use soil microorganism-derived siderophores to take up iron ?

LRSV

Julien Cucherousset

Ecosystem synchrony: a novel currency to quantify ecosystem response and resilience to global change

EDB

Delphine Capela +TPMP

Engineering bacteria and plant to evolve nitrogen-fixing mutualistic interactions

LIPME

Benjamin Gourion

Life after symbiosis ? Exploring the rhizobial fate and physiology during the legume nodule senescence.

LIPME

Christophe Dunand

From water to land and back to water: did aquatic Angiosperms keep genetic signatures ?)

LRSV

Sandra BENSMIHEN, co-PIs: Pierre Marc DELAUX / Julien PIRRELLO

Does a dedicated HOrmonal PAthway exist to integratE Symbiosis and root development? 

LIPME / LRSV

Nathalie Picault

Impact of transposons on plant adaptation and development by alternative splicing

LGDP

Year 2018

Project applicant

Project title

Unit

Caroline Baroukh

Metabolic modelling of A Plant Pathogen Interaction (MAPPI)

LIPM

Simon Blanchet

The contribution of intraspecific diversity to ecosystem functioning

SETE

Fabrice Roux

A citizen project for establishing a genomic map of local adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana to climate, soil and microbiota (OPTIMA)

LIPM

Caroline Baroukh project summary

Metabolic modelling of A Plant Pathogen Interaction (MAPPI)

« In this project, we propose to use a combination of modeling and experimental approaches to decipher the metabolic plant-pathogen interaction. Our objectives will be to i) better understand the metabolic adaptation that undergoes the pathogen once inside the plant, ii) know which substrates of the plant sustain the growth of the pathogen, and iii) identify pathways potentially targeted by the pathogen to increase its metabolic proficiency. The model organisms used will be the bacterial pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum and the agronomical plant tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum). To reach a precise representation of the plant pathogen system and accurate predictions, experiments will be necessary to calibrate the model. The budget will mainly be used to this end, via the employment of a research assistant. »

Simon Blanchet project summary

The contribution of intraspecific diversity to ecosystem functioning

« This project aims at quantifying the contribution of intraspecific diversity to the functioning of ecosystems, and at identifying the mechanisms underlying intraspecific BEFs. The project focuses on three freshwater species interacting within a trophic network, and it combines empirical and experimental approaches. A first task aims at determining whether intraspecific diversity substantially contributes to ecosystem functioning in the wild. Using observational data gathered along a climatic gradient, we will quantify the effects of intraspecific diversity on key ecological functions, compare the strength of intraspecific BEFs between the target species, and compare the contribution of intraspecific diversity to ecosystem functioning to that of climate. In a second task, we will set an experiment varying intraspecific diversity and climate to tease apart direct effects due to intraspecific diversity and climate, as well as indirect effects of climate mediated by intraspecific diversity on ecosystem functioning. This project should lead to an novel integrative framework linking abiotic drivers, intra- and interspecific diversity, and ecosystem functions. »

Fabrice Roux project summary

A citizen project for establishing a genomic map of local adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana to climate, soil and microbiota (OPTIMA)

« A major challenge in evolutionary ecology is to describe the genomic architecture underlying local adaptation. Establishing genomic maps of local adaptation is particularly relevant to predict the potential of species to respond to global changes. However, although species are exposed to a large range of abiotic and biotic selective agents in their natural habitats, most genomic maps of local adaptation published so far have been established for climate variation. To fill this gap, this project aims at establishing a genomic map of local adaptation in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana to soil physico-chemical properties and soil microbiota, along with climate. To achieve this goal, we will combine the advantages of (i) Genome-Environment Association analysis based on 168 whole-genome sequenced natural populations of A. thaliana located in the south-west of France and (ii) reciprocal common gardens based on a unique citizen project that will allow estimating the performance of all these populations in 60 common gardens. This exploratory project represents an exciting opportunity (i) for estimating the relative importance of abiotic and biotic factors on the extent of local adaptation in A. thaliana, and (ii) for prospective research on the identification of novel functional mechanisms underlying local adaptation in A. thaliana. »

Year 2016

Project applicant

Project title

Unit

Laurent Deslandes & Nemo Peeters

Explore Plant integrated decoy diversity to trap Ralstonia solanacearum type III effectors

LIPM

Benjamin Gourion

Risks associated with nodulation (possibility that it can be exploited by pathogens)

LIPM

Jean-Philippe Combier

Function and comparative analysis of microRNA-encoded petides in plants and animals

LRSV

Jean-Baptiste Ferdy

Adaptation of pathogens to host microbiomes

EDB

Year 2014

Project applicant

Project title

Unit

Benoit PUJOL

Predicting the ability of wild populations to adapt as a function of non genetic inheritance (PAW)

EDB

Sylvain Raffaele

Virulence function and evolution of Sclerotinia signals manipulating plant RNA silencing pathways (ScleRNAi)

LIPM

Alexis Chaine

Human Altruism Genes

SETE

Year 2012

Project applicant

Project title

Unit

Stephane Genin

System level investigation of Ralstonia solanacearum metabolic and regulatory networks to infer the pathogen-induced metabolic fluxes during plant infection 

LIPM

Guillaume Bécard

Discovering the ecological importance of lipochitooligosaccharides as signaling molecules in plant biotic interactions

LRSV

Catherine Masson

Environmental and genetic factors triggering hypermutability during experimental evolution of legume symbionts

LIPM

Etienne Danchin

Social Heredity (SOC-H²)

EDB

André Pornon & Christophe Andalo

Studying interaction network in changing plant and pollinator communities by DNA barcoding (POLLIBAR)

EDB

In this folder

4 projects have been selected for a total of €500k in funding under the New Frontiers for INTERFACE call. 4 other projects were also selected to be on a waiting list for funding.

5 projects were selected for funding for a total of 410k € in the New Frontiers 22-23 call.

A new Call for proposal "New Frontiers" 23-24 focused on the interface between ecology/evolution and mechanistic biology with a budget of 550 k€.

New Frontiers call for proposals 22-23 & New Frontiers 21-22 results, 8 projects were selected for funding for a total of 600k €

Three out of 17 high quality New Frontiers projects have been selected by the TULIP International Scientific Board on May 15th and will be funded for two years, as decided by the TULIP Executive Council on May 22.

The TULIP New Frontiers Call for proposals opens on January 24, 2018, as every two years since 2012. It aims to support projects beyond the boundaries of our themes, especially those combining infra- and supra-individual approaches (central theme of TULIP), possibly taking some risks and not yet corresponding to projects mature enough to be deposited at the ANR or similar programs.

Four New Frontiers projects out of 15 candidates have been selected on April, 20th by our International Scientific Board members and will be financially supported by TULIP.

Less than two weeks to submit to the "TULIP New Frontiers call for proposal", running from December 2015 to March, 31th. This call for proposals will support projects that are beyond the usual boundaries of our current research, bringing new theoretical and conceptual approaches, or developing new methodological approaches.