Objective
Bacteria are social organisms that interact and coordinate their behaviors to shape our world. Whereas their clonal populations are genetically identical, they contain phenotypically distinct members. This diversity provides resilience to unpredictable environmental changes, such as antibiotic exposure or nutrient depletion. It also facilitates cooperative interactions between different sub-population via specialization in costly activities such as virulence factor production, forming an extended basis for sociality. Yet, the phenotypic landscape in any given species remains largely unexplored due to the technical challenges of profiling individual bacteria, particularly in spatially structured biofilms and host tissues. Recent breakthroughs in microbial single-cell transcriptomics, developed by the PI of the current proposal (Dar et al., Science 2021), now provide a unique opportunity to illuminate this hidden complexity.
This proposal seeks a systematic and experimentally derived view of phenotypic variation. We will comparatively study pathogenic and non-pathogenic Pseudomonas species in three settings, each illuminating distinct core principles of cell-cell variability. In Objective 1, we will focus on free-living populations, building on the massive multiplexing capacity of our method to comprehensively map phenotypic cell states, outline their interplay with physiological and environmental factors, and study their evolution. We will characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of cell states directly within 3D biofilms in Objective 2, and contextualize our results in vivo during infection in Objective 3, simultaneously measuring host-and-microbe spatial expression.
Comprehensively studying phenotypic heterogeneity is a critical next step for understanding how microbes survive in complex environments, socially interact, and subvert their hosts during infection. If successfully executed, this proposal will shed light on the plasticity that defines microbial li
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.
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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-2023-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.
7610001 Rehovot
Israel
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.