Project description
Exploring the hidden world of fungi for new treatments
The rapid increase in antimicrobial resistance poses a critical threat to global health, highlighting the urgent need for discovery of new antibiotics. Historically, fungi have been the source of life-saving medicines such as penicillin, but many fungal genomes remain largely untapped. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the FungalBioChile project seeks to discover novel biologically active compounds by exploring a diverse collection of understudied fungal species endemic to Chile. By combining high-throughput antimicrobial screening with modern genomic tools, the project aims to identify dormant biosynthetic gene clusters. Consequently, it will be able to induce, isolate and characterise new antimicrobial metabolites that can combat resistant pathogens.
Objective
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health threat, demanding innovative discovery pipelines for new bioactive molecules. Fungi represent a proven yet underexploited source of antibacterial compounds, but current approaches are hampered by high rediscovery rates and limited integration of genomic data. This project leverages an exceptional collection of 164 Chilean fungal strains preserved at the Westerdijk Institute, covering more than 50 years of sampling (1968–2022) and diverse ecosystems from the Atacama Desert to temperate rainforests. Importantly, it includes underexplored genera such as Pewenomyces, Resinogalea, Entomortierella, and Leohumicola, for which no secondary metabolites have been reported to date.
The workflow combines high-throughput antimicrobial screening with stringent dereplication to prioritize novel chemistry early on, ensuring resources are directed toward unique candidates. Active extracts will be fractionated and profiled by HRMS, while parallel genome and transcriptome sequencing will link bioactivity to biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Moreover, fungi will be cultivated under elicitation conditions, to activate silent pathways and enhance metabolite discovery.
By integrating functional screening with genome-based approaches, the project will accelerate the identification of novel antibacterial molecules with potential relevance against multidrug-resistant pathogens. Beyond discovery, the results will expand our understanding of the untapped biosynthetic capacity of Chilean fungi, positioning them as a valuable resource for future natural product research and sustainable drug development.
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 mycology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- 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.
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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-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(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.
1011 JV AMSTERDAM
Netherlands
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