Project description
Linking growth dynamics to secondary metabolite production in soil bacteria
Bacterial secondary metabolites (SMs) are valuable antimicrobials. However, discovery is slow due to rapid resistance and limited understanding of production timing across different bacteria. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the GROWMETA project will reveal how SM production dynamics in natural and laboratory settings are related to growth rates and transcriptomic changes in soil bacteria. It will conduct a time-series rewetting experiment on a Negev Desert biocrust, which serves as a model for reduced soil diversity. The project will use quantitative stable isotope probing, metagenomics, and metatranscriptomics at various time points to determine specific growth rates and expression profiles for metagenome-assembled genomes. The results are expected to improve discovery pipelines in the field.
Objective
Bacterial secondary metabolites are highly valuable to humanity as antimicrobials. However, the antimicrobial discovery rate has been lagging behind rapid resistance development. Our lack of knowledge about when and why different taxa produce secondary metabolites is a major source of difficulty in the discovery process. Studies on Actinomycetes in batch culture have shown that secondary metabolites tend to be produced in stationary phase, but evidence suggests that production dynamics are different in other phyla as well as in situ. The goal of this project is to understand how in situ and in vitro SM production dynamics relate to growth rate and transcriptomic changes in soil bacteria. To achieve this, I will conduct a time-series rewetting experiment on a Negev desert biocrust as a model system of soil with reduced diversity. I will apply quantitative stable isotope probing metagenomics and metatranscriptomics to each timepoint to obtain a specific growth rate and expression profile for each metagenome-assembled genome. I will supplement the in situ data with in vitro expression studies in isolates. Together, this will allow me to assess how growth rate & phase, expression of other pathways, and the soil environment impact secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene cluster expression. The results of this project will give unprecedented insights into the dynamics of secondary metabolite production, challenge long-held assumptions, and ultimately lead to improved discovery pipelines.
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 genetics genomes
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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)
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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
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
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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1010 Wien
Austria
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