Objective
A widely accepted view in virology is that virions function as independent infectious units. However, recent work by us and others indicates that viruses are often transmitted as more complex structures, such as virion aggregates, lipid vesicles or protein matrices harbouring multiple infectious particles. This demonstrates that viruses can be transmitted as “collective infectious units”, in sharp contrast with the current paradigm. Critically, these recent discoveries now set the stage for the evolution of social interactions, a previously unappreciated facet of viruses. I propose to investigate how collective infectious units drive virus social evolution using state-of-the-art tools from the fields of virology, genetics, structural biology, and nanotechnology. The effects of collective infectivity on viral fitness will be tested directly using experimental evolution and genetic engineering, and confirmed in vivo. Three widely different viruses will be used to achieve generality: human enteroviruses, a vector-borne rhabdovirus, and a baculovirus. Furthermore, the implications of virus social interactions for the maintenance of genetic diversity, evolvability, virulence evolution, and the emergence of drug resistance will be investigated. Radically new processes such as the putative extracellular fusion of viral particles will be also explored. I expect that infectious units constituted by viruses from different species will be uncovered as well, with far-reaching implications for epidemiology. It is becoming increasingly recognized that parasite sociality is a disease determinant, and our results may therefore inspire new antiviral strategies. In sum, this project aims at laying the foundations of virus sociality from a mechanistically-informed, bottom-up approach. Importantly, beyond their practical importance viruses will also provide a simple and tractable system that will help us to establish more general principles of social evolution.
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 virology
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology genetic engineering
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology structural biology
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
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.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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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.
(opens in new window) ERC-2016-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
46010 Valencia
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.