Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-06-18

A Systems Biology Approach to controlling Nematode Infections of Livestock

Objective

Nematodes are among the most serious threats to livestock. They cause disease and death but they also compromise production. Even a mild infection can cause a relative protein deficiency and reduce weight gain by 25% . In the UK sheep industry alone, nematode infection costs over 100 million Euros a year .
The mainstay of current control measures is anthelmintic treatment but this is threatened by the evolution of drug resistance in parasite populations. Alternative or supplementary control measures are urgently needed. The most promising option for control of nematodes is exploitation of genetic variation which is cheap, surprisingly rapid and has proved to be successful in Australia and New Zealand. There are two obstacles to exploiting genetic variation in resistance to nematodes. Many farmers lack expertise in breeding for disease resistance; simplified breeding strategies that utilise markers for disease resistance will help here. Also, there are concerns about sustainability of breeding for resistance to nematodes.

A systems biology approach is necessary in order to develop the comprehensive understanding necessary to simplify breeding to ensure that disease control is likely to be sustainable. A systems approach will also help to identify the most suitable combination of approaches under different circumstances. Systems biology combines a variety of disciplines in a quantitative way to achieve a coherent, consistent and comprehensive understanding of host-parasite relationships.

This project aims to identify markers for host resistance to nematodes and to enhance our understanding of the host-parasite interaction. We will train a cadre of researchers with the necessary skills to apply quantitative approaches to parasitology and with the essential experience to apply this knowledge to the livestock sector.

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.

You need to log in or register to use this function

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.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2010-ITN
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.

MC-ITN - Networks for Initial Training (ITN)

Coordinator

UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW
EU contribution
€ 736 605,00
Address
UNIVERSITY AVENUE
G12 8QQ Glasgow
United Kingdom

See on map

Region
Scotland West Central Scotland Glasgow City
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

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.

No data

Participants (8)

My booklet 0 0