IRP SORE-MNP

IRP SORE-MNP

Sociality and reproduction : genetic and social transmission of social networks in crested macaques

IRP SORE-MNP

2023-2027

Contact

Julie DUBOSCQ – French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)

Dyah PERWITASARI-FARAJALLAH – Biosystematics and Animal Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) University, Bogor, Indonesia

Introduction

The objective of the project is to study the links between sociality and reproduction in crested macaques, a highly social primate species.

Despite its cost in terms of competition for resources and transmission of parasites/pathogens, sociality (social interactions and relationships between individuals) is beneficial to individuals. In both human and animal societies, individuals who have strong, balanced or enduring social relationships are generally healthier, live longer or have more children. These special social relationships are formed especially between individuals who are related or have similar characteristics in age or social status. However, cultivating a broad social network, not just with relatives, is also beneficial.
These variations in sociality are related to variations in reproductive success at the individual level, but reproductive success is also transmitted socially: individuals with high social status produce more offspring that have a fitness advantage. The role of individuals in their social network (hierarchical rank, social status) is transgenerational and heritable, but also strongly dependent on social support from peers. There are thus 2 non-independent components – genetic and social – in primate social networks. In species with heightened sociality, such as humans or crested macaques, where kinship is not the only factor structuring social relationships, these 2 components are highly intertwined. Distinguishing between them requires long-term, high-resolution data.
We study monkeys in the wild, we must establish kinship genetically (no pedigree) and observe the behavior of monkeys on site. The data are therefore characterized by a low resolution. Analytical protocols exist, or have been under development by our teams for several years, to overcome this, e.g., fecal DNA capture-enrichment and whole genome sequencing, or Bayesian dynamic analysis of social networks.

Proposed actions:
Action 1: establish genetic relatedness from whole genome sequencing (WGS).
Action 2 : study the relationship between sociality and reproduction
Action 3: maintain and strengthen collaboration

 

Academic partners

France

UMR7206 Eco-anthropologie (CNRS / MNHN)

Indonesia

Biosystematics and Animal Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) University, Bogor, Indonesia

Germany

Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Leipzig

German Primate Centre, Göttingen

Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig

 

IRP SPECIFLY

IRP SPECIFLY

French-Thai International Research Project on "Ecology and evolution of specialized pollination by flies"

IRP SPECIFLY
2023-2028

Contact:
Dr. Rumsaïs Blatrix
rumsais.blatrix(at)cefe.cnrs.fr

Dr. Aroonrat (Meekijjaroenroj) Kidyoo
aroonratm(at)hotmail.com

IEA FoolFly
News

Flower of Ceropegia tenuicaulis in Pha Taem National Park, Thailand, with the main pollinator, a fly of the family Milichiidae, ready to enter the pitcher-shaped corolla. The scent emitted by the flower deceives the fly by mimicking a food source. Photo credit: R. Blatrix.

Introduction

This International Research Project SPECIFLY aims to contribute to the understanding of angiosperm evolution by studying the proximal and ultimate factors of pollination specialization by flies. The originality of the project lies in its approach, which is based on a comparative framework offering both morphological and phylogenetic contrasts, and in the biological models chosen, which are plant-pollinator systems that have been relatively understudied but whose particular characteristics make them well-suited to meet the main objective.

Missions and research themes

As study models, the team will use fly-pollinated species in two phylogenetically distant families, Apocynaceae (subfamily Asclepiadoideae) and Aristolochiaceae. In the latter family, they will focus on the genus Aristolochia, characterized by trap flowers. Several species of Aristolochia are present in France and other species are present in Thailand. In the family Asclepiadoideae, they will study Ceropegia (in Thailand), which has trap flowers; Brachystelma (in Thailand), a sister genus to Ceropegia but with open flowers; the distant relative Vincetoxicum (represented in both France and Thailand, but by different species), with open flowers; and Heterostemma ficoides (in Thailand), which has a flower resembling a fig (a convergence in the physical filtering of pollinators). Unlike the Aristolochiaceae, all species of Asclepiadoideae have pollen clustered in pollinia.

MAIN projects of research

Objective 1: How is specialization in these plant-dipteran interactions achieved? A combination of behavioral and mechanical filters likely drive specialization in these systems. The team will characterize the filtering mechanisms of pollinators and interpret their evolution in a phylogenetic framework within each genus.

Objective 2: How does floral morphology affect the evolution of specialization? Trap flowers have morphological features that facilitate pollinator screening. Are trap flowers more specialized than open flowers? The team will compare pollinator assemblages between the two sister genera, Ceropegia (trap flowers) and Brachystelma (open flowers), and with the less related genus Vincetoxicum (open flowers). They postulate that the level of specificity in synchronopatric species sharing the same pollination strategy should be higher when pollen is grouped in pollinia than when it is produced as individual grains, because there are fewer opportunities to transfer pollen in the former case. To test this hypothesis they will measure the overlap in pollinator assemblages between Ceropegia species and between Aristolochia species.

Objective 3: How do pollen limitation and reproductive interference influence the evolution of specialization? Specialization can increase pollen limitation, but pollen limitation can be mitigated by autonomous autogamy or by a moderate level of specialization. To test the hypothesis of a trade-off between level of specialization and autonomous autogamy, the team will compare reproductive biology and pollen limitation among Aristolochia species that vary in autogamy and specialization. To test the existence of a relationship between floral specialization and reproductive interference, they will compare specialization among synchronopatric species (Aristolochia in France) and among sympatric but asynchronous species (Aristolochia in Thailand).

The main activities will be the identification of floral VOCs and pollinator assemblages, molecular phylogeny, characterization of plant reproductive strategy, measurement of plant reproductive success.

 

institutions and laboratories involved

France:
• Dr. Rumsaïs Blatrix (Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS – Université de Montpellier – University Paul Valéry Montpellier 3 – EPHE – IRD).

Thailand:

• Dr. Aroonrat Kidyoo (Department of Botany, Chulalongkorn University).

 

Ceropegia species in Thailand, like this one in Sai Thong National Park, show a very high level of endemism. Thus, they are of particular interest for conservation issues. Photo credit: R. Blatrix.

Floral scents are extracted in the field using an apparatus specially designed for the purpose. Photo credit: R. Blatrix.

Aristolochia pistolochia, in France. Ceropegia and Aristolochia belong to distinct plant families, but deceptive pollination using small flies has converged in several species. Photo credit: R. Blatrix.

IRN CREMA

IRN CREMA

Creating & Mapping the Heritages of the Ordinary City

IRN CREMA

2022-2026

Contact

Prof. Adèle Esposito Andujar – French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)

Introduction

The international research network CREMA (Documenting & Mapping the Heritages of the Ordinary City) examines, in a comparative perspective on the scale of South-East Asia, the processes by which associative and professional actors, in synergy with communities of inhabitants, attribute heritage values to the places of everyday life (residential and commercial districts) that make up the “ordinary city”.

 

Academic partners

France
Centre de recherche en sciences sociales et humaines sur l’Asie du Sud-Est (IRASEC – UAR 3142)

Architecture Urbanisme Société : Savoirs Enseignement Recherche (UMR AUSser 3329)

Pôle de Recherche pour l’Organisation et la Diffusion de l’Information Géographique (PRODIG – UMR 8586)

Indonesia

Indonesian Heritage Trust & Université Trisakti

Malaysia

Badan Warisan Malaysia (The Heritage of Malaysia Trust)

Penang Heritage Trust

Thailand

Chiang Mai University

Chulalongkorn University

 

IEA Metal carbonyl complexes as a theranostic

IEA Metal carbonyl complexes as a theranostic

CO RELEASE AND TRACKING

IRP CHIRACHEM

2022-2023

Contact

Prof. Hélène BertrandDépartement de Chimie, Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS)

Dr. LEONG Weng Kee – Schoof of physical and Mathematical Sciences, Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry (NTU)

Introduction

Carbon monoxide is an important cell signaling molecule with many potential therapeutic applications. A main difficulty with realizing this in a clinical setting, however, lies in its controlled release; CO-releasing molecules (CORMs) represent a promising way towards achieving this. Current investigations into CORMS are hampered by important unanswered questions such as the rate of uptake and CO release, and the fate of the products in vivo. Herein, we propose the design of Organometallic–Nanoparticle constructs as a new class of theranostic nanomaterials that will combine specific delivery, tunable CO-release and stabilized products, together with trackability through surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic (SERS), photoacoustic (PA) or fluorescence imaging. The work will be carried out by a French-Singaporean consortium of complementary expertise.

MAIN projects of research

  • CO-releasing molecules (CORMs)

Academic partners

France
Laboratoire des BioMolécules (LBM – UMR 7203)

Singapore

Schoof of physical and Mathematical Sciences, Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Nanyang Technological University (NTU)

 

IRP CHIRACHEM

IRP CHIRACHEM

Chirality

IRP CHIRACHEM

2022-2026
Contact

Prof. Alexander Kuhn – Université de Bordeaux – Institut des Sciences Moléculaires (ISM)

Prof. Chularat Wattanakit – Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC)

Introduction

FROM ENANTIOSELECTIVE SENSING TO SEPARATION AND CHIRAL CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS

Based in Thailand, the main topic of this IRP is chirality. However, it is not only limited to electrocatalytic processes as previously, but enlarged to various chemical processes, ranging from enantioselective sensing to separation and chiral chemical synthesis.

These are extremely important issues in contemporary chemistry, because many molecules in our daily life are chiral and are often present in only one of two possible mirror-image forms

MAIN projects of research

  • Chirality

Academic partners

France
Institut des Sciences Moléculaires (ISM – UMR 5255)
L’Institut supérieur de chimie de Rennes (ISCR – UMR CNRS 6226)

Thailand

Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC)

 

Franco-Thai_2
Chirachem-VISTEC2
Lancement Chirachem 2
Visite VISTEC
Lancement Chirachem
Chirachem - Thailande
Chirachem-Lab