Objective
Vitex agnus-castus (VAC) is a medicinal plant clinically shown to be an effective treatment for premenstrual syndrome. The bioactive constituents are diterpenoids that can interact with G-protein-coupled receptors such as the dopamine D2 and D3 receptors. This specific activity also opens up the possibility of other therapeutic applications where dopaminergic drugs are required, such as for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. The major barrier to the development of VAC diterpenoid drugs, and the further exploration of pharmacological activity of VAC diterpenoids, is the lack of a source of pure compounds. MediVAC is a 24 month research project that will discover the genes involved in the biosynthesis of pharmacologically active diterpenoids in VAC, and to express these genes in a biotechnological platform for the sustainable production of pure bioactive diterpenoids. State-of-the-art imaging mass spectrometry tools will be used to identify diterpenoid rich tissues which will be targeted for transcriptomics. Then, through the integration of bioinformatic, molecular biology and analytical chemistry techniques, the diterpene synthases and cytochrome P450 enzymes involved in VAC diterpenoid biosynthesis will be identified and functionally characterised. The resulting molecular toolbox of diterpenoid genes will be stably integrated into yeast for the production of bioactive diterpenoids. The engineered host strains hold potential for the future development of an industrial scale production platform able to produce high-purity, bioactive diterpenoids for the pharmaceutical industry. Implementation of this proposal will provide the research fellow with essential training in the field of molecular biology and further her plant metabolic profiling expertise, leaving her with a unique and highly sought after skill set.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology parkinson
- natural sciences chemical sciences analytical chemistry mass spectrometry
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
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.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2014
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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.