Objective
I will investigate the hypothesis that antimicrobial peptides in insects deal with persistent infections and/or prevent the evolution of resistant bacterial mutants. This will be achieved by looking at two hitherto unrelated areas within a single conceptual and experimental framework: (a) how to prevent the evolution of bacterial resistance against antimicrobials? (b) Why is it adaptive for insects to exhibit long lasting costly immune responses?
This research takes a novel approach to understand the evolution of drug resistance in pathogens, one of the most important applied evolutionary questions of our times. Insects produce potent antimicrobials that are considered as future novel antibiotic drugs and provide insight into a multidrug treatment shaped by natural selection. Elucidating the evolution of integrated immune responses will greatly enhance the understanding of immunity in insects, the most speciose metazoan taxon of great importance to human health (vectors) and nutrition (pollinators).
I will use the beetle Tenebrio molitor to examine the temporal dynamics of an antibacterial response using proteomics. I will build on this using two series of experiments manipulating the antimicrobial response in-vivo, using RNAi gene knockdowns, and in in-vitro, using synthesised Tenebrio antimicrobials will be carried out. These experiments will investigate the response of the model pathogen Staphyloccocus aureus to the changes in the beetle s multidrug response. S. aureus resistance to these experimental selection arenas will be studied at the phenotypic and genomic level.
The results from this research program will (a) inform antibiotic strategies in medical and veterinary science and (b) will change the way we understand the evolution of (insect) immunity
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.
- agricultural sciences veterinary sciences
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance multidrug 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
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.
ERC-2010-StG_20091118
See other projects for this call
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
14195 BERLIN
Germany
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.