Project description
Programming gut bacteria for medicine delivery
The human gut microbiome plays a major role in digestion, immunity, metabolism and overall health. Scientists are increasingly exploring ways to engineer beneficial gut bacteria so they can produce medicines directly inside the body with fewer side effects. However, current microbial therapies often use bacteria that do not engraft well in the gut and display limited potential in the production of therapeutics. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the GUT-NAT project aims to develop a new therapeutic platform based on Clostridium leptum, a common and stable gut bacterium. Researchers will programme this strain to manufacture natural compounds, including potential anticancer agents, opening new possibilities for microbiome-based treatments.
Objective
Recent advances in synthetic biology and microbiome research have highlighted the pivotal role of the human gut microbiome not only in maintaining gastrointestinal health but also in regulating systemic processes such as metabolism, immunity, and neurobiology. In this context, engineering commensal bacteria for precise, localized therapeutic delivery with minimal side effects is an emerging frontier. To date, most engineered microbial therapeutics have focused on probiotic species such as Escherichia coli or Lactobacillus spp.—due to their genetic tractability. However, these species often struggle to engraft durably in the complex gut environment. Moreover, commensal strains developed so far have been limited to heterologous production of protein-based therapeutics. To broaden the therapeutic arsenal, GUT-NAT aims to develop Clostridium leptum, a prevalent human gut commensal, into a next-generation, genetically programmable chassis for the biosynthesis of clinically relevant and functionally diverse therapeutic natural products. My preliminary results demonstrated successful genetic manipulation of C. leptum. GUT-NAT’s goals will be achieved through three integrated objectives, leveraging my expertise in microbial genetic engineering, natural product biosynthesis, and analytical chemistry: (1) characterization of genetic regulatory elements in C. leptum. (2) metabolic engineering, and (3) biosynthesis of anticancer natural products in C. leptum using state-of-the-art tools such as PacBio long-read genome sequencing, high-efficiency inducible CRISPR-based genome editing, and advanced mass spectrometry. Together, these efforts will (i) unlock the synthetic potential of an underexplored gut commensal, (ii) establish a robust and persistently engrafted chassis for the production of natural product therapeutics, and (iii) accelerate the discovery of novel bioactive metabolites from anaerobic microbiota, thus addressing a critical gap in microbiome synthetic biology.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology molecular genetics
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences synthetic biology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology microbiomes
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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
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
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) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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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.
9052 ZWIJNAARDE - GENT
Belgium
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.