Objective
The emergence and increasing prevalence of bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics demand the discovery of new therapeutic approaches. Inhibition of pathogenesis by targeting bacterial virulence represents a promising alternative for antimicrobial therapy. A central requirement of bacterial virulence is the ability to tightly regulate virulence genes in response to host signals. Besides the two-component regulatory system, cell-surface signaling (CSS) represents an important mechanism by which bacteria respond to the medium. However, whereas regulation by two-component systems has been studied in great detail, little emphasis has been on CSS regulation, although it offers great potential for the development of antimicrobial compounds. In this project I propose to characterize a novel CSS regulatory system (PUMA3) which I recently discovered and that triggers the production of Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence factors in response to a (human) host signal. P. aeruginosa is a major human opportunistic pathogen causing infections in hospitalized patients. It is also the main cause of death of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis. Due to its natural resistance to antibiotics and its ability to acquire such resistance, P. aeruginosa infections are often difficult to treat. The P. aeruginosa PUMA3 system consists of an extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factor, a sigma factor regulator in the cytoplasmic membrane, and a receptor. Presence of an inducing signal results in the activation of the sigma factor, which binds to the RNA polymerase and promotes the transcription of a specific set of virulence genes. Induction of PUMA3 increases P. aeruginosa virulence. In this project I will characterize this novel regulatory system in detail, identify the inducing conditions and study variants in other Gram-negative pathogens. Moreover, a high-throughput screen will be developed to target ECF sigma factors in order to find new drugs that prevent P. aeruginosa virulence.
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
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
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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-2011-CIG
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.
MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)
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.