Objective
Proteins are molecular machines that drive all major functions in cells. Controlling the activity of proteins in real time via light or chemicals is a central goal in synthetic biology. The design of switchable proteins, in particular single-chain, allosteric variants, however, is a challenging engineering problem thus-far mostly addressed by trial-and-error.
DaVinci-Switches takes a radically new, data-driven perspective to fundamentally advance our understanding of protein allostery and accelerate and eventually rationalize the engineering of switchable proteins by interfacing synthetic biology with machine learning. We will establish a 'design by directed evolution' approach to create switchable proteins through receptor and effector fusion followed by phage-assisted in vivo directed evolution using synthetic gene circuits for selection. We will apply this novel pipeline to a diverse set of effector proteins and monitor the evolutionary process by next-generation sequencing (Objective 1). In parallel, we will perform an in-depth computational analysis of domain insertions within the natural protein repertoire. The combined, rich datasets will be used to train machine learning models to infer sequence patterns predictive of domain insertion tolerance and allosteric coupling between receptor-effector pairs (Objective 2). Finally, we will employ this unique model to design light- and drug-inducible variants of the Yamanaka cell reprogramming factors. These will provide the foundation of an Adeno-associated virus-based platform for cyclic, partial in vivo reprogramming of somatic cells with enormous potential for regenerative medicine, which will be evaluated in a murine model of drug-induced liver injury (Objective 3). DaVinci-Switches harnesses our key competences in protein engineering, synthetic biology and computation to reveal fundamental principles of allostery and enable transformative advances in the design of switchable proteins for research and medicine.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
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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.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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
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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
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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.
69117 Heidelberg
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.