Project description
Bacteria as live antibiotics
Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is a Gram-negative bacterium with a unique ability to attack and kill other bacteria. It enters the area between the cell wall and the plasma membrane of bacterial prey known as the periplasm and undergoes replication, releasing more progeny. B. bacteriovorus has attracted great interest due to its potential to serve as a ‘live’ antibiotic. The scope of the EU-funded PREDATOR project is to further investigate the cell cycle of this bacterial predator using a combination of genetics, molecular biology and live imaging techniques. A better understanding of its biology will assist the battle against resistant Gram-negative pathogens.
Objective
The model predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus feeds upon other Gram-negative bacteria, including pathogenic strains. Upon entry inside the periplasmic space of the prey envelope, B. bacteriovorus initiates an exquisite developmental program in which it digests the host resources while ensuring the osmotic stability of its niche. In the periplasm, the predator cell grows as a polyploid filament, before releasing a variable, odd or even number of daughter cells upon a non-binary division event. The progeny is then liberated to hunt for new prey. B. bacteriovorus is now attracting a revived attention as several in vivo models of infection established its promising “living antibiotic” potential. Despite this remarkable lifestyle, the fields of bacterial cell biology and antibiotics research still lack a comprehensive understanding of how this micro-predator thrives inside the envelope of other bacteria. Indeed, the molecular factors behind the non-canonical cell biology of B. bacteriovorus are still largely mysterious.
My goal is to tackle this question by unraveling the novel mechanisms that control key processes of the fascinating cell cycle of this bacterium, using a unique combination of quantitative live imaging of predation at the single-cell level, bacterial genetics and molecular biology. Specifically, I aim to (i) uncover how the genetic information is organized, copied and partitioned in a polyploid cell before non-binary division, (i) shed light on factors that polarize the predator cell, and (iii) discover prey envelope features that influence the predation cycle. Because the biology of B. bacteriovorus stands beyond textbook standards, our results will provide mechanistic insight into important biological questions that remained unexplored using “classical” model species. If successful, this project will advance bacterial cell biology, while offering an innovative contribution to the fight against antibiotics-resistant pathogens.
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
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
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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)
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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
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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-STG - Starting Grant
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2018-STG
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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.
1348 LOUVAIN LA NEUVE
Belgium
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