Project description
Hitting bacteria where it hurts
Staphylococcus aureus is a common bacterium that might very well be living on your skin or in your nose but causing no harm. However, these bacteria can turn deadly if they find their way into your bloodstream, joints, bones, lungs, or heart. Staph infections cause food poisoning, septicaemia, toxic shock syndrome, and even septic arthritis. Notorious for its ability to become resistant to antibiotics, Staphylococcus aureus is an excellent model system to elucidate the mechanisms of antibiotic tolerance. CheckBacZ is using high-tech methods to evaluate the different stages of this bacteria's cell cycle to find ways to make them vulnerable to drugs.
Objective
The occurrence of multiple-drug resistant bacteria constitutes an important threat to healthy lives, signifying the importance of alternative strategies to combat bacterial infections. This research project bears the potential to significantly contribute to overcome antibiotic resistances that occur during the treatment of bacterial infections, as it combines the studies of cell division, cell cycle regulation and antibiotic resistance in the clinically relevant model Staphylococcus aureus. Given that the tubulin homologue FtsZ is essential for cell division and serves as an antibiotic resistance determinant in this organism, the proposed research activity focuses on the cytokinetic Z-ring, more precisely its role in driving the staphylococcal cell cycle. Super-resolution microscopy will be used to determine if FtsZ treadmilling controls the rate of cytokinesis and if it organizes the peptidoglycan synthesis proteins during cell division, aiming to provide evidence for a FtsZ-dependent checkpoint in the cell cycle. Profiting from a mutant screen currently ongoing in the host laboratory, mutants impaired in the timing of septum formation will be identified to study the functional integration of corresponding genes into FtsZ-driven septum synthesis. In view of the fact that bacteria at different stages of the cell cycle are phenotypically distinct, microfluidics will be used to test if the degree of antibiotic tolerance varies during the cell cycle, which would enforce the vision for re-sensitizing resistant bacteria by manipulating their cell cycle.
The strong expertise and the availability of cutting-edge techniques in the host group together with my professional experience will generate an ideal synergy within this work programme. I will generate valuable scientific knowledge, acquire transferrable skills and create new collaborations in the international bacterial cell biology community, thus paving the way for establishing myself as an independent researcher.
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 physical sciences classical mechanics fluid mechanics microfluidics
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy super resolution microscopy
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance antibiotic resistance
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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.1.3. - 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 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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-2018
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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.
1099 085 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.