Objective
As Nature's medicine makers, Streptomyces bacteria produce a plethora of natural products, which we harness for clinical, biotechnological and agricultural applications, including 70% of the antibiotics. Streptomycetes still have a vast reservoir of unexplored biosynthetic potential, but many biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) are not expressed in the laboratory. To bring the chemical dark matter to the light, we need to discover the keys to unlock the expression of cryptic BGCs. I aim to add an entirely new dimension to genome mining, namely via understanding and exploitation of the regulatory networks that control natural product biosynthesis in Actinobacteria. My team discovered the concept of antibiotic production on demand, showing that plant hormones activate antimicrobials. Predicting when instead of what BGCs produce will allow clustering of BGCs based on their response to ecological signals. This can serve as a beacon for prioritising BGCs, and aid in the discovery of new biosynthetic pathways. I will tackle three major challenges:
[1] The systems biology challenge is to elucidate the regulatory circuitry of streptomycetes and to reliably predict how BGCs are controlled
[2] The metabolic challenge is to unwire the networks that tie carbon metabolism to antibiotic production, to bridge the gap from the complex polysaccharides in nature to the defined carbon sources of the laboratory.
[3] The ecological challenge is to unravel the mechanisms and molecules via which plants invoke the power of Streptomyces' bioactive molecules to obtain protection against infections and pests, aimed at biological disease-suppression.
COMMUNITY is an open science project that will help to elucidate whether the yet unexplored BGCs will deliver a paradigm shift in drug discovery, for application in agriculture and human health. Deliverables are innovative systems biology tools and detailed transcription factor networks, elicitors for drug screening and disease-suppressive microbes.
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 biochemistry biomolecules carbohydrates
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
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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.
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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-ADG
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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.
2311 EZ Leiden
Netherlands
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.