Objective
Studying secondary metabolites from bacterial sources has provided us with many essential medicines and biotechnologically valuable enzymes that construct these highly complex molecules. However, only a handful of talented, chemically rich bacterial producer taxa are the source of these compounds. Identifying new talented producers has been hampered by the as-yet unculturable nature of most bacteria, thus exploring this ‘microbial dark matter’ to identify new bioactive compounds and enzymology is an outstanding challenge.
The Piel lab, in collaboration with several other research groups across several studies, has recently identified a vast number of new and chemically rich and diverse BGCs from 'Entotheonella' and Acidobacteria that are sponge and coral symbionts, respectively. These producers contain a plethora of unusual, putative biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) for ribosomally-synthesised post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). These are a largely untapped natural product superfamily, found in all domains of life, that feature unprecedented enzymology to generate highly modified and structurally complex bioactive peptide products with numerous indications. Biochemical studies into RiPPs, in particular from 'Entotheonella', has identified RiPP maturases with both previously unknown mechanisms and biotechnological applications, thus highlighting the potential of investigating RiPP pathways from microbial dark matter.
NewRiPPMaturases will explore the RiPP BGCs from 'Entotheonella' and Acidobacteria, a fraction of which have only been previously studied, to expand the repertoire of RiPP natural products and RiPP maturase biochemistry. This will be achieved using a combination of bioinformatic workflows for identifying unusual RiPP gene clusters with high confidence, characterisation of RiPP compounds produced using heterologous expression, and biochemical studies into the substrate profile and mechanism of the unusual RiPP maturases.
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 physical sciences astronomy astrophysics dark matter
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
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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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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-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.
8092 Zuerich
Switzerland
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.