Project description
Spatial environment and the development of bacterial drug resistance
Standard administration of antibiotics to a patient results in a non-homogeneous concentration profile, as drug penetration is imperfect. Yet, in vitro experiments to study antibiotic resistance are commonly performed in homogeneous liquid environments. Recent studies suggest that spatial drug concentration gradients accelerate the development of resistance, as resistant mutants evolve by invading the drug-enriched areas. The EU-funded EvoSpa project aims to develop a novel experimental assay where bacteria migrate and evolve among hundreds of independently created environments. This assay will be based on custom liquid handling and robotics to create a variety of antibiotic landscapes and measure evolution in a range of environments. This project will provide a quantitative and systematic study on how spatial structure affects evolutionary dynamics.
Objective
Given the looming antibiotic resistance crisis, it is imperative to understand the fundamental determinants of resistance evolution dynamics. When antibiotics are administered to a patient, imperfect drug penetration leads to a highly inhomogeneous concentration profile. In contrast, evolution experiments to study resistance are commonly performed in homogeneous liquid environments. Recently, there has been a surge of theoretical studies suggesting that spatial drug concentration gradients drastically accelerate resistance evolution as resistant mutants evade resource competition by invading drug-enriched territory. However, the effect of spatial structure on evolutionary dynamics remains unclear due to a lack of experimental assays with well-defined, inhomogeneous landscapes.
Here, I propose to develop a novel experimental assay where bacteria migrate and evolve on a landscape consisting of hundreds of independently definable environments. This assay will be implemented using custom liquid handling and imaging robots to systematically program antibiotic landscapes and measure evolution on a wide range of drug environments. By combining this novel assay with theoretical modeling, I will investigate evolution in monotonous and rugged drug landscapes. Motivated by theoretical predictions that multi-drug strategies aimed at preventing resistance evolution become compromised in inhomogeneous environments, I will further investigate the effect of spatial inhomogeneity using defined multi-drug landscapes.
This project will provide a unique, quantitative and systematic experimental investigation on how spatial structure affects evolutionary dynamics. Beyond bacteria evolving antibiotic resistance, the same concepts apply for tumor resistance evolution. Overall, this project will greatly advance our understanding of resistance evolution with broad biomedical implications.
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 evolutionary biology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- 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-2019
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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.
50931 KOLN
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.