Objective
The microbial world remains largely unexplored. The goal of this project is to study microbial genome diversity and understand how the genomes of microbial pathogens evolve, using the alpha-proteobacteria as a model system. The alpha-proteobacteria are a bacterial subdivision of much interest from both a medical and an ecological standpoint.
Many species establish chronic host-infections, with higher vertebrates (e.g. human, cattle and rodents) as well as with plants and insects. Well-known alpha-proteobacterial infections include trench fever, cat-scratch disease (Bartonella sp.) and formation of tumour-like structures in host tissues, such as in plants by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Moreover, other alpha-proteobacterial species are known to establish tight symbiotic interactions with plants, such as is the case with the formation of root nodules that are involved nitrogen fixation. Furthermore, they represent a genetic group that is predominant in the environment, as suggested by environmental shotgun genome sequencing of the Sargasso Sea.
Because of the broad diversity in genome sizes and structures, the alpha-proteobacteria offer an excellent model system for studies of the forces, mechanisms and rates whereby bacterial genomes evolve. At the date of this writing, more than 20 alpha-proteobacterial genomes have been completely sequenced, ranging in size from 1.1 to 9.1 Megabases, and many more will be available in the near future.
The aim of this project is to study the evolution of the alpha-proteobacteria by analyzing their genomes, and as such gain insight in how specific alpha-proteobacterial lineages have evolved into the present-day pathogens and (endo)symbionts. This will be achieved by reconstructing ancestral alpha-proteobacterial genomes and to specifically study the flow of genes along the nodes towards the different pathogenic and symbiotic lineages, including the ultimate endosymbionts: the eukaryotic mitochondria.
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 planetary sciences planets
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
- agricultural sciences animal and dairy science domestic animals animal husbandry
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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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.
FP6-2005-MOBILITY-5
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
UPPSALA
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.