Objective
The idea of parasite manipulation is well known in animal behaviour, with famous examples like the cordyceps ?zombie? fungus of ants. Yet, the most abundant and diverse parasites on earth do not target animals but rather bacteria. They are the bacteriophages, or phages. My hypothesis is that it is in phages that we will find the most important examples of parasite manipulation, examples that will help us both understand and control bacteria, and their impacts. I will focus on the recently-discovered Regulatory Switch (RS) phage, which reversibly excise and reintegrate into the bacterial chromosome to shift the host between different physiological states. I, and others, have shown that RS phages influence a wide variety of bacterial traits including sporulation, biofilm formation, mutation rates or bacteriocin production. However, we do not understand when, how or why these viruses cause such large changes to bacterial behavior. The goal of my project, therefore, is to understand how and why RS phage evolve as a new candidate model of parasite manipulation. Specifcally, I will answer: 1) When and how do RS phages alter host behavior? 2) What is the molecular basis for the effects of RS phage? 3) Why have RS phage evoved to change bacterial behaviours, and is there evidence of counter strategies in their bacterial hosts? I will work with the bacterium Bacillus subtilis, which is strongly affected by RS phage and a model organism, allowing me to employ the very latest molecular methods. My goal is to demonstrate that parasite manipulation is a major factor in the ecology and evolution of bacteria, whereby many bacteria are essentially puppets of their phage masters. Understanding how phage achieve this manipulation also has the potential for broad impacts in an era when the need to find new ways to control bacteria becomes ever greater.
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 microbiology virology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology mycology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics chromosomes
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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) ERC-2021-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
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.