Objective
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most commonly diagnosed conditions in the EU with a prevalence of 10-15%, and although not fatal, it is associated with significant co-morbidities and societal costs. The causes of IBS are not well understood, although it has been suggested that there are dietary triggers of the disease, in particular fermentable carbohydrates such as resistant starch (RS). It is believed that alterations to the gut microbiota in IBS sufferers’ leads to changes in the mechanism of fermentation of carbohydrates, resulting the symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhoea commonly associated with IBS.
This project aims to identify the underlying mechanisms of fermentation of different forms of RS in healthy and IBS patients groups, and to uncover key differences in RS fermentation between these two groups. This will contribute to a deeper understanding of the underlying causes of IBS and help inform improved dietary guidelines and treatment options for patients.
The approach I will take is to use in vitro chemostat models of the human colon, seeded with faeces from either healthy or IBS patient volunteers. Different physical forms of RS will be used as substrates for the colon models. The fermentation behaviour of the different substrates will be characterised in detail. The kinetics of gas and short chain fatty acid production will be monitored during fermentation. 16S sequencing will be used to identify key fermentative genera, and to assess differences in microbiota between healthy and IBS groups. This sequence data will then be used to generate specific probes for fluorescence in situ hybridisation microscopy to explore differences in the physical interaction between microbes and starch during fermentation.
These data will be used to identify differences in microbial community composition, key fermentative species and fermentation pathways and end-products between different forms of RS by healthy and IBS patient microbiota.
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.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels fossil energy natural gas
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy absorption spectroscopy
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules carbohydrates
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology bioprocessing technologies fermentation
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF-EF-RI - RI – Reintegration panel
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2016
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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.
NR4 7UQ Norwich
United Kingdom
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.