Objective
Eukaryote chromosomes are organized in euchromatic and heterochromatic domains that differ in composition and packing level of the chromatin. The genes embedded in heterochromatin are often silenced due to the high level of packing and seem to be activated specifically by different regulators in different heterochromatic domains. Therefore, different requirements and regulatory pathways are likely to exist in different heterochromatic regions. Telomeres are heterochromatic regions composed by DNA and proteins that protect the end of the chromosome of terminal erosion. It is known that telomeres are important in such important processes like tumorogenesis or senescence.
With this project I pretend to achieve a better understanding of which mechanisms and path ways control the expression of genes embedded in the telomeres using the Drosophila telomeres as a model. Drosophila telomeres are cytological and functionally equivalent to most eukaryote telomeres, and therefore the obtained results will be of general interest. Nevertheless, Drosophila telomeres are an unusual variation, because instead of using telomerase they are maintained by successive transpositions of two retrotransposons, HeT-A and TART. HeT-A and TART, transpose exclusively to the end of the chromosome, and therefore they have change their parasitic nature into an indispensable cellular role. Till today, it is unknown which are the mechanisms that target HeT-A and TART exclusively to the telomeres.
Preliminary results indicate that the Gag protein from HeT-A might be responsible for driving the two telomeric retrotransposons to the end of the chromosome in different Drosophila species. The second part of the proposed project will be dedicated to study in detail the necessity and sufficiency of the H eT-A Gag protein in telomere targeting in Drosophila. Understanding the telomere targeting will be important for the telomere biology but also for possible applications of retrotransposons in gene therapy.
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.
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology genetic engineering gene therapy
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics chromosomes
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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.
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-12
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.
IRG - Marie Curie actions-International re-integration grants
Coordinator
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.