Objective
Pilocarpine is a plant-derived alkaloid used to treat primary angle closure glaucoma and dry mouth. To meet the commercial demand for pilocarpine, the alkaloid is extracted from wild Pilocarpus plants in the Amazon rainforest. Excessive harvesting of wild populations has led to the official listing of several Pilocarpus species as threatened. Synthetic biology offers a sustainable approach for pilocarpine production. However, to produce the compound in heterologous hosts such as yeast, the biosynthesis pathway of pilocarpine needs to be elucidated first. In PiloSyn, I aim to unravel the natural biosynthesis pathway of pilocarpine, which is currently completely unknown. My host group recently obtained transcriptomics and metabolomics data sets of two Pilocarpus species, and these will serve as the basis of the project. As several pathway options are conceivable for pilocarpine biosynthesis, I will first reduce the number of options by identifying the metabolic precursors of the pathway and by obtaining structural and spatial information about possible pathway intermediates. Then, using the transcriptomics data sets, I will identify the enzymes that catalyze each of the pathway reactions. For this, I will use a learning-by-constructing approach in transiently transformed leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana. The results of PiloSyn can be used to establish a cheap and sustainable pilocarpine source in a heterologous host. This will eliminate the need to harvest wild Pilocarpus plants, thus is preventing their extinction and protecting the fragile ecosystem of the Amazon rainforest. Through PiloSyn, I will expand my knowledge on enzyme discovery and pathway elucidation and receive valuable training to become an independent and mature researcher in plant metabolism.
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.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine ophthalmology glaucoma
- natural sciences biological sciences synthetic biology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
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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.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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.