Project description
Untangling interactions of the smallest, most numerous organisms on Earth
Bacteriophages (also called phages, bacteria-infecting viruses) are the most numerous, diverse, and uninvestigated group of organisms on Earth. Recent computational and technological advances have identified an unprecedented diversity of phages in different environments such as the human gut and the ocean's depths. Meanwhile, understanding the functions of all these phages is lagging far behind. The evolutionary interactions between phages and their hosts have led to an incredible variety of molecular mechanisms, several of which led to groundbreaking biotechnological applications. Given the critical role of phages in medicine and biotechnology, including as an alternative to antibiotics to combat specific bacterial pests and pathogens, understanding what enables a phage to infect a host is critical. The EU-funded DiversiPHI project is developing and applying new computational and experimental methods to better understand the evolution of phage-host interactions.
Objective
What determines if a phage can infect a host? This question arises as we work to understand the ecological roles of the hundreds of thousands of unknown viruses that I and others have discovered around the world. Phages are the most abundant life forms on Earth with important applications in medicine and biotechnology and far-ranging effects on microbial community functioning in all environments. Phage-host interactions (PHI) are an emergent trait that depends on the complex integration of factors like their taxonomic identity, the environment, and phage- and host-encoded proteins. With DiversiPHI, I propose a research program to unravel PHI by 1) measuring, 2) modelling, and 3) experimentally testing these diverse factors to develop a predictive understanding of host-range evolution.
I will first measure a range of evolutionary, ecological, and molecular factors contributing to PHI at high resolution using newly developed computational tools that exploit high-throughput datasets from thousands of natural environments around the world. Next, I will apply deep learning to integrate these measurements to simultaneously (i) quantify the relative importance and complex inter-dependencies of the different factors, and (ii) create a unique predictive model of host-range evolution. To complement these in silico predictions, I will develop an experimental evolution setup that tests the effect of the different PHI factors on host-range evolution in vitro.
Little is known about the abundant phages and their role in shaping our microbial world. DiversiPHI will vastly elevate this understanding and contribute new fundamental knowledge on how species-species interactions evolve in complex environments. Moreover, I will provide valuable new analysis tools to the community and consolidate my strong international reputation as a pioneering researcher in the cross-disciplinary field encompassing microbial ecology, virology, metagenomics, bioinformatics, and computer learning.
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 virology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
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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-COG - Consolidator 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-COG
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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.
07743 JENA
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.