Project description
Virus-host interactions: the role of small RNAs
The mosquito Aedes aegypti is a known vector for viruses with pandemic potential such as yellow fever and Zika virus. It also carries various mosquito-specific viruses and endogenous retroviruses that can be transmitted from mother to offspring. The ERC-funded PIWIdefense project is working under the hypothesis that PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) play a crucial role in protecting the mosquito germline from viral infections. The aim is to investigate the role of the piRNA pathway in defending against RNA viruses and endogenous retroviruses and to identify the underlying mechanisms. Project findings will provide important insight into virus-host interactions, paving the way for new strategies to combat mosquito-borne viruses.
Objective
Background: The mosquito Aedes aegypti transmits viruses with pandemic potential but is also host to a large repertoire of mosquito-specific viruses and endogenous retroviruses. These viruses may invade the ovaries and eventually the oocyte to be transmitted from mother to offspring and to expand in the population. This transmission route exposes them to the specific host defense mechanisms of the ovary, which they must overcome to ensure onward transmission. This intriguing virus–host conflict is crucial for virus evolution and ecology and for host reproduction and survival, but has thus far not been studied.
Hypothesis: I hypothesize that a specific class of small RNAs, called PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), are essential for protection of the mosquito germline from virus infection.
Aim: My goal is to define the role of the piRNA pathway as a host defense system against RNA viruses, endogenous retroviruses, and other genomic parasites, and to identify viral counter-defense mechanisms. Additional to these fundamental aims, we will reprogram the piRNA pathway to induce resistance against pathogenic viruses in mosquitoes.
Approach: This interdisciplinary project c¬ombines powerful genetic, genomic, and proteomic approaches at the intersection of virology, RNA biology, and entomology. Of particular importance, we will establish urgently needed tools for tissue-specific gene inactivation in vivo to define the functions of the expanded PIWI gene family of mosquitoes.
Importance and Innovation: ERC project PIWIdefense will be the first to define host defense functions of the piRNA pathway in the germline of a major vector mosquito. The project generates unprecedented insights into the fundamental processes that shape the fascinating virus–host conflicts in mosquitoes. In addition, the project establishes a novel approach that can be translated into mosquito-centered intervention strategies against arthropod-borne viruses.
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 virology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
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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)
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Topic(s)
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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
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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
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-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.
6525 GA NIJMEGEN
Netherlands
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