Objective
Cholera is a severe diarrhoeal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae and is responsible for thousands of deaths worldwide every year. The current treatment is oral rehydration therapy combined with antibiotics. However, with antibiotic resistance on the rise, new antimicrobial strategies are needed to combat the disease. An attractive antimicrobial approach is to inhibit functions that are essential for bacterial virulence. This disarms the bacteria rather than killing them, reducing the selective pressure that leads to antibiotic resistance in the first place. Four small regulatory RNAs, the quorum regulatory RNAs (Qrrs), lie at the heart of the virulence pathway in V. cholerae. At low bacterial cell density, in the initial phases of infection, the Qrrs are abundant which leads to the expression of virulence genes, infection of the host and cholera. Post infection, when the cells are at high densities, Qrrs are no longer produced, which turns off virulence-gene expression and induces the release of the bacteria back into the environment for reinfection. The Qrrs function by altering the translation and/or stability of specific mRNA targets through base-pairing, which ultimately regulates the expression of the virulence genes. Artificially modulating these base-pairing interactions is key to inhibiting V. cholerae virulence. In order to do this, it is necessary to elucidate the molecular details of the interactions. How do the Qrrs bind to their mRNA-targets? Are protein partners, e.g. Hfq, required for the interaction? What are the binding parameters of the interactions? In this proposal, a range of molecular genetic, biochemical, biophysical and structural studies will be performed to investigate the interactions involved between the Qrr sRNAs, their mRNA targets and protein partners. This will provide a solid foundation for the development of a novel antimicrobial strategy for the prevention and treatment of cholera.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance antibiotic resistance
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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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2009-RG
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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.
Coordinator
PO1 2UP Portsmouth
United Kingdom
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.