Project description
Metabolic regulation of differentiation in bacteria
Bacterial endospores (a.k.a. spores) are highly resilient cell types that some species form to survive extreme conditions. Spore formation involves the collaboration between two cells: the forespore, which becomes the resilient spore, and the mother cell, which dies after sporulation. This project will explore the role housekeeping metabolism, required for a cell to function normally, in sporulation. To achieve this goal, the researcher will perform a genome-wide study of the role of housekeeping genes during sporulation, taking advantage of a system that allows the inactivation of individual housekeeping functions in the mother cell or the forespore. This study may find out if mother cell and forespore depend on each other and what factors play a critical role in their differentiation.
Objective
Studies on developmental biology have traditionally focused on deciphering the signaling and regulatory networks that control cellular differentiation. However, it remains unclear how the interplay between developmental regulatory circuits and housekeeping metabolism contributes to the determination of cell fate. Here, I aim to provide a comprehensive analysis of the role of housekeeping metabolic functions during endospore formation in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Sporulation is a simple developmental pathway that entails the interaction between two cells arising from a single cell division: the forespore, which becomes the metabolically dormant spore, and the mother cell, which dies after sporulation. The mother cell and forespore activate different genetic programs, leading to the production of sporulation-specific structural proteins necessary for proper spore development. However, little is known about how essential housekeeping functions contribute to the process of sporulation. I have developed a system to degrade proteins catalyzing key metabolic reactions in a cell- and developmental stage-specific manner during sporulation. Here, I will use this system to perform a genome-wide study to evaluate the role that housekeeping metabolism plays in spore development. My preliminary results provide evidence for metabolic differentiation between the mother cell and the forespore, metabolic dependency of the forespore on metabolic precursors synthesized in the mother cell, and bidirectional transport of phospholipids between the mother cell and forespore membranes. I will use a combination of cutting edge genetic, cell biology and chemical biology techniques to reveal the metabolic transactions that underlie this unique, syntrophic relationship. The successful completion of this project will provide the first exhaustive metabolic description of a developmental process.
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 biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology cell metabolism
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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)
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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
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-STG - Starting 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-2019-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.
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany
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.