Project description
Decoding how fungi remodel their cellular armour
Fungal cell walls are essential for cell viability. The wall is much more than the outer layer because it determines how a fungus interacts with the world. This is important in health and agriculture. However, scientists know little about the chemical processes that allow fungi to modify this barrier. The ERC-funded FOX project aims to change that by focusing on the role of carbohydrate oxidases. Instead of looking at traditional building blocks, FOX investigates how oxidative enzymes actively ‘edit’ the cell wall’s structure. The project’s goal is to move beyond a single species and establish a new field: fungal cell-wall enzymology. By mapping these mechanisms, the project provides a new foundation for tackling fungal infections, improving crop protection, and advancing industrial biotechnology.
Objective
The fungal cell wall (FCW) is the primary interface between the fungal cell and its surrounding. This statement applies to all types of fungi, regardless of whether they live in symbiosis, cause disease, or decompose organic matter. As smart architects, fungi have found ways to evolve the chemical composition of this wall (made mostly of carbohydrates) to thrive and constantly adapt to various environmental factors. To date, to which extent, how and what for the FCW is modified remains largely unknown. I hypothesize that fungi use “carbohydrate oxidases” (CarbOx) to cleave and/or functionalize their FCW carbohydrates, thereby altering their physico-chemical properties to fulfil diverse putative functions. In the FOX project, I will aim at unravelling the diversity and biological functions of FCW-active CarbOx.
Here, using approaches at the interface between enzymology and microbiology, I propose to decipher the biological functions of pre-identified FCW-active CarbOx in a model filamentous fungus. Then, using an ad hoc methodology integrating in muro detection of oxidized carbohydrates, proteomics and computational modelling, we will draw a comprehensive portrait of FCW carbohydrate oxidation events and pinpoint responsible CarbOx. Building on these insights and methods, we will build experimentally-supported models to probe and test the occurence of these oxidative mechanisms across the fungal kingdom.
By unravelling and providing a comprehensive understanding of the oxidative chemistry and function of CarbOx during FCW remodelling, my research will lay the conceptual and practical foundations of FCW oxidative enzymology. Given the involvement of fungi in a myriad of life-sustaining and threatening processes, as well as in industrial bioprocesses, I anticipate that FOX will have wide-ranging implications for the health, agriculture and biotechnology sectors.
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 biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology mycology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules carbohydrates
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
You need to log in or register to use this function
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.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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-2025-COG
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.
75007 PARIS CEDEX 07
France
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.