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Learning the dynamic statistical folding of bacterial chromosomes

Objective

The physical organization of bacterial chromosomes is inherently variable, with large conformational fluctuations both from cell to cell and over time. Yet, chromosomes must also be structured to facilitate processes such as transcription, replication, and segregation. A physical description of this dynamic statistical folding of bacterial chromosomes remains largely elusive.

Hi-C experiments probe chromosome organization by measuring average contact frequencies of chromosomal loci pairs. Despite the rapidly expanding database of high-resolution Hi-C data for many bacterial species and conditions, these data are still mainly interpreted on a case-by-case basis and with qualitative or heuristic methods.

My goal is to develop a principled unifying approach to infer and analyze the dynamic organization of chromosomes from bacterial Hi-C data. This data-driven approach aims to unravel the dynamic statistical folding of chromosomes and its impact on functional processes in growing and replicating bacteria.

We will infer a bacterial chromosome model from state-of-the-art data using learning methods at the intersection of information theory and statistical mechanics. By combining data-driven with mechanistic modelling approaches, we aim to:

Decode information contained in Hi-C data by learning both 3D steady-state and 4D dynamic models for the statistical organization of chromosomes.
Provide a unifying statistical mechanics analysis of the dynamic statistical folding of chromosomes across bacterial species under both steady-state and replicating conditions.
Develop theoretical methods using pairwise and multi-contact statistics to study the topology of statistical chromosome folding.

My research will advance the field by providing a conceptual understanding of the physical and mechanistic principles that underlie chromosome organization in developing bacteria. This work could shed new light on vital functional processes such as chromosome segregation.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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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.

(opens in new window) ERC-2023-COG

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Host institution

STICHTING VU
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 2 000 000,00
Address
DE BOELELAAN 1105
1081 HV Amsterdam
Netherlands

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

€ 2 000 000,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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