Objective
Bacterial symbionts are ubiquitous and influential partners of all metazoan life forms. This is exemplified by the high number of insect species harbouring heritable bacterial symbionts with important impacts on host ecology and evolution. In contrast, several plant pathogenic bacteria causing devastating crop diseases and important economic losses also depend on insect vectors to be transmitted to new host plants. It is thus evident that certain bacteria have evolved adaptations to very different host environments from two kingdoms of life and are able to switch frequently between these contrasting lifestyles. However, a detailed understanding of the functional and/or phenotypic adaptations allowing their cross-kingdom host switches is often lacking. The project PHYTOPHONUS (‘plantkiller’) will investigate how an initially insect-associated bacterial endosymbiont has recently adopted a multi-host lifestyle as an insect-vectored plant pathogen. This will be achieved using the phytopathogen ‘Candidatus Phlomobacter fragariae’ as study system. This bacterium belongs to the widespread Arsenophonus clade of insect endosymbionts and is also the causative agent of Marginal Chlorosis Disease of strawberry. We will combine experimental approaches as well as state-of-the-art genomic and transcriptomic sequencing techniques to investigate (i) the potential genomic adaptations allowing this bacterium to successfully switch between insect and plant hosts, and (ii) the respective interactions of the symbiont with both hosts. The results of the project will allow us to elucidate whether the genetic repertoire within the Arsenophonus clade is sufficiently versatile to allow rapid adaptations to plant host environments should the ecological opportunity arise. In addition, we will provide a holistic view of the multi-partite interactions between the bacterial pathogen, its insect vector and host plant, which may ultimately provide cues to interrupt the disease dynamics in the field.
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 ecology
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
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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-ST - Standard EF
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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-2017
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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.
20122 Milano
Italy
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.