Objective
Wolbachia are arguably the most prevalent intracellular bacteria in animals, infecting filarial nematodes and up to 66% of arthropod species. Wolbachia are maternally transmitted and can induce a large range of strong phenotypes on their hosts. However, very little is known on how they induce these phenotypes and how they interact with the host at the molecular level. One main difficulty with this system is that Wolbachia have been genetically intractable. We will study how Wolbachia confers protection to viruses, a phenomenon that is currently being applied to fight dengue and Zika viruses. We also aim at understanding how these endosymbiont titres are regulated, a crucial aspect of their biology. We will identify host and Wolbachia genes that regulate these processes by performing classical genetic screens in Drosophila and develop a new method to perform a forward genetic screen in Wolbachia. Our previous analysis of natural variants of Wolbachia will also be extended in order to identify alleles associated with differential growth and antiviral protection. We will characterize candidate Wolbachia genes, from the previous analysis and current results in the lab, by performing a new method to obtain loss-of-function mutants in target Wolbachia genes. We will also focus on putative effector proteins of Wolbachia with the purpose of identifying cellular location, induced phenotypes, and host interacting proteins. Drosophila genes will be characterized by classical genetic methods in this model organism. The identification and characterization of Wolbachia and host genes involved in antiviral protection and Wolbachia proliferation will provide key insights to these basic biological problems. Moreover, the knowledge generated and new Wolbachia variants may have an application in the fight against arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes and human diseases caused by filarial nematodes.
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 biological sciences microbiology virology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
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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-2017-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.
1067-001 LISBOA
Portugal
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.