Objective
Evolution of the ability of microorganisms to degrade xenobiotic compounds, including many environmental pollutants, is slow and limited by a whole set of physiological and regulatory bottlenecks. This Project aims at harnessing natural mechanisms of generation of diversity and selection to accelerate in vivo evolution of the bacterial biodegradative gene inventory and to understand how they function in relation to the genomes of the strains bearing the enzymatic activities. Specifically, we propose to develop auto-evolving bacterial strains designed to rapidly activate a massive mutagenesis program on the molecular bottlenecks for biodegradation of target aromatics as soon as they face a given non-degradable compound. The workplan includes [i] reconstruction of ancestral catabolic enzymes to be included in an expanded biodegradative gene inventory [ii] in vivo selection for the best assembly of ancestral biodegradative genes with the potential to deal with recalcitrant compounds or mixtures thereof and [iii] a mutagenesis phase engineered to be triggered upon induction by an external signal. The result of these steps is the generation/selection of novel catabolic pathways towards an otherwise non-degradable compound. The proof of concept will involve the catabolism of test recalcitrant compounds (e.g. chloroaromatic pollutants) by bacteria endowed with a rapid evolving capacity in chemostats. This Project which builds on sound Synthetic Biology approaches will provide a proof-of-principle of a general approach to evolutionary engineering. The frame has potential impact in both environmental clean-up and the production of high-added value compounds. We argue that PROACTIVE and the technologies that are expected to emerge from it, can make a difference in the way new reactions are pursued in many biotechnological endeavours, and it will open new avenues to address otherwise intractable environmental pollution problems.
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 biological sciences synthetic biology
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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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.
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.
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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IIF
See other projects for this call
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.
Coordinator
28006 Madrid
Spain
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.