Project description
Understanding the logic behind nature's protein logistics
The cell is often compared to a factory, and the logistics of protein transport is certainly complicated. Imagine a multitude of workers on the factory floor having to sort through thousands of different types of products, hot off the assembly line, to make sure they reach their correct stations - or organelles, in this case - to be used in their daily work. Each worker must determine exactly to which station the cargo needs to go to but do this based on very few and highly confusing signals, and then transport the protein cargo accordingly. In the cell, thousands of such protein cargos must be sorted into their organelles in every cell and each minute. One wrong step and the entire cell may die leading to disease. The EU-funded OnTarget project will elucidate how protein localisation is controlled, with far-reaching benefits for our understanding of natural processes, as well as for therapies and industrial processes.
Objective
Half of eukaryotic proteins require targeting to specific organelles to execute their function. Research from multiple labs, including our own, has uncovered some of the pathways that recognize such cargo proteins and target them in an efficient and regulated fashion. However, many central pathways are clearly still missing. Importantly, current studies tend to focus on single cargo proteins and how they utilize one particular targeting pathway, creating an over-simplified view of the cellular road map. In the cell, multiple pathways provide overlapping or competing targeting options for thousands of cargo. Hence, various mechanisms exist to ensure robust but flexible sorting according to cellular needs. Naturally, a big challenge in the field is to understand how this complex network of targeting pathways is coordinated in a live cell during changing conditions.
The new tools and approaches that we will create during OnTarget will put us finally in the position to study the whole cellular targeting network and the interplay between its components. Specifically, we will uncover missing targeting pathways (Aim 1); develop techniques to map cargo range for targeting pathways in various environments (Aim 2); and develop an in-cellulo competition assay to define the rules that prioritize the delivery of one cargo over another across conditions (Aim 3). By creating cutting-edge systematic tools that track targeting in live cells as well as by comparing and contrasting multiple pathways and destinations, we will define the rules governing optimal wiring of the targeting network, allowing us to gain a comprehensive view of this process in a cellular context. Our work will unlock the door to full control over protein localization for basic research, as well as for medicine and industry. More broadly, the methodologies that we develop here will provide a platform for addressing any complex biological process that revolves around multiple, overlapping and competing, pathways
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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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.
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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.
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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-COG - Consolidator 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-2019-COG
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7610001 Rehovot
Israel
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