Objective
BACKGROUND: Mosquitoes and other blood-feeding arthropods transmit important human and animal viruses (arthropod-borne viruses, arboviruses). With the increasing global threat of arboviruses, it is essential to understand the virus-vector interactions that determine virus transmission. The mosquito antiviral immune response is a key determinant of virus replication and transmission. We recently showed that arboviruses are targeted by a poorly-understood RNA silencing pathway in the major vector mosquito Aedes aegypti: the Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway. Our (published and unpublished) observations imply that the piRNA pathway contributes to antiviral defense against different classes of viruses in somatic tissues of mosquitoes. Moreover, we identified a novel class of endogenous gene-derived piRNAs in mosquitoes that may form a new paradigm for piRNA-based regulation of cellular gene expression.
AIM: This proposal has a three-fold aim: i) to delineate the biogenesis and function of the novel classes of virus- and gene-derived piRNAs, ii) to characterize mechanisms by which (arbo)viruses suppress or evade antiviral RNA silencing pathways, and by doing so, iii) to establish mosquitoes as an experimental model to characterize the complex piRNA machinery.
APPROACH: We will use Aedes cell lines that recapitulate all aspects of piRNA biogenesis. This allows us to use a unique, powerful approach of genomic, cell biological, biochemical, and proteomic methodologies to study piRNA biogenesis and function.
IMPORTANCE AND INNOVATION: This is the first study to comprehensively characterize viral and cellular piRNA biogenesis and function in mosquitoes. This proposal provides novel insights into the antiviral response in mosquitoes and may uncover novel regulatory functions of endogenous piRNAs. Moreover, it establishes a platform for functional and biochemical dissection of the complex biogenesis of piRNAs - the most enigmatic class of small silencing RNAs.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2013-CoG
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
6525 XZ Nijmegen
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.