Objective
Effective pest control is essential for human health, prosperity and food security. The development of insecticide resistance threatens agriculture and health programmes, where insect vectors spread life-threatening diseases such as malaria. Therefore there is a continuous need for new, effective and environmentally-friendly insecticides against novel molecular targets in order to circumvent resistance mechanisms.
Members of the beta-scorpion toxin family display an extraordinary species-selective toxicity towards insects. beta-toxins bind with voltage-gated sodium channels but the binding determinants of the beta-toxin receptor site remain to be fully elucidated. In particular the residues which underpin the species-selectivity of toxin binding are not determined yet.
I propose to elucidate the binding interactions of the insect-specific BmK IT1 beta-scorpion toxin with its receptor site on the extracellular linkers of the insect domain II voltage-sensor. I plan to use a recently-developed chimeric strategy in a combinatory mutagenesis, electrophysiology and 3D modelling approach in order to generate a description of toxin binding.
I have expertise in molecular biology, computer modelling and ion channel expression. To complete my skill set as an ion channel researcher, I require practical electrophysiology experience. With this grant, I will pursue three goals: 1. Training in electrophysiology techniques. 2. Application of these techniques to study BmK IT1 binding with insect receptor site and thereby answering three questions: a: Which sodium channel function is modified by BmK IT1? b: Where on the voltage-sensor paddle does BmK IT bind? c: Does the insect S1-S2 linker modify BmK IT binding? The third goal is to develop a 3D molecular model of BmK IT interaction with the insect receptor site, thereby providing valuable structural information to enable pharmacophore modelling aiding novel insecticide design.
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.
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases malaria
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry alkali metals
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
- 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.
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-2010-IEF
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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
91058 ERLANGEN
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.