Objective
For all sexually reproducing organisms fertilisation is a fundamental step to ensure the continuity of the species. The events that take place during fertilisation are poorly understood at the molecular level, although a number of components that play crucial roles in this process have been identified in mammals. The mammalian oocyte is surrounded by the zona pellucida (ZP), a specialised extra-cellular matrix consisting of filaments of polymerised ZP domain proteins. Some of these ZP domain proteins serve a s species-specific receptors for the initial recognition of sperm. Upon fusion of the gametes, modification of ZP subunits leads to morphological changes of the whole matrix that inactivate its receptor activity as part of the block against the entry of additional sperm.
The goal of this project is to determine the first three-dimensional structure of a ZP domain. So far, no structure is available for this conserved protein, which is thought to adopt a unique fold. Solving the structure would be of outmost importance for understanding the molecular mechanism of crucial steps of fertilisation. Since more than one hundred extra-cellular proteins with diverse functions contain ZP domains, a structure would have implications far beyond the field of fertilisation and it would allow detailed interpretation of the effect of the many ZP domain mutations that cause disease in humans.
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 earth and related environmental sciences geology mineralogy crystallography
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
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.
FP6-2004-MOBILITY-11
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
STOCKHOLM
Sweden
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.