Project description
Novel therapy against a crop disease
Xylella fastidiosa is a destructive plant pathogen, threatening economically vital crops including olive, grapevine, and almond. The bacterium has caused significant losses across the Mediterranean, mainly in the ancient olive groves of southern Italy. The ERC-funded PROTaX project aims to address the lack of effective treatments against this pathogen. The study builds on the promising discovery of a microbiome protein identified in a non-host plant that exhibits inhibitory activity targeting the bacterium. The goal is to refine and optimise this protein into an effective therapeutic. PROTaX could deliver the first targeted biological treatment against Xylella fastidiosa, with significant implications for European agriculture.
Objective
This project aims to develop an innovative protein therapy to combat Xylella fastidiosa (Xf), a plant pathogen causing significant economic losses in high-value crops such as olive, grapevine, almond, and blueberries.
Xf has particularly impacted agriculture in the Mediterranean Basin, with the widespread decline of ancient olive groves in southern Italy serving as a prominent example. Current management strategies are ineffective, underscoring the need for novel disease control solutions - an issue central to the MultiX grant on Xf virulence and plant immunity.
Our key inventive step is based on the hypothesis that the phytomicrobiome of a non-host plant contains factors that inhibit Xf. Through experiments and proteomics, we have identified a protein that demonstrates inhibitory activity against Xf. This protein shows significant promise and, with further refinement and optimization, could be developed into an effective therapy.
Building on this discovery, PROTaX will design an effective therapeutic and demonstrated its potential to manage Xf infections. Furthermore, we will have gained a deeper understanding of market interests.
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
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
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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-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept 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-2025-POC
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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.
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany
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.