Project description
Diving into the microbiome of mesophotic sponges
Natural products have inspired the majority of small molecules currently approved for biomedical applications. The marine environment is a proven source of potentially novel bioactive molecules, but the mesophotic zone, 30 to 150 meters beneath the surface, is poorly explored because of the technical difficulty of reaching this twilight zone of the ocean. Mesophotic sponges, therefore, are relatively unstudied in terms of their natural product potential. The EU-funded COSMos project aims to take a closer look at the metagenomes of mesophotic sponges; the study will combine large data analyses, molecular and synthetic biology approaches and bioinformatics to survey the natural product potential of eight prioritised mesophotic sponges in order to discover new molecules with medicinal potential.
Objective
Molecules made by nature, or natural products, inspire the majority of currently approved small molecules for use in medicine. With an increase in widespread antibiotic resistance and the perpetual search for anticancer drugs, new sources of natural products must be discovered. The marine environment is a proven, prolific source of novel bioactive molecules and much of the ocean remains chemically and genetically unexplored. The mesophotic zone is particularly neglected because of the technological difficulty of reaching this twilight zone of the ocean. Shallow water marine sponges have been well documented to have diverse microbial populations and impressive chemical repertoires. Mesophotic sponges, however, are relatively unstudied in terms of their natural product potential. This project aims to take a deep dive into the metagenomes of mesophotic sponges for their natural product potential. Hybrid sequencing and assembly of metagenomes of eight prioritized sponges will uncover new biosynthetic gene clusters for heterologous expression and chemical elucidation. This study will combine large data analyses, cutting edge molecular and synthetic biology approaches and bioinformatic techniques to survey the natural product potential of mesophotic sponges and discover new molecules with medicinal potential.
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences data science
- natural sciences biological sciences synthetic biology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance antibiotic resistance
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
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)
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
6708 PB Wageningen
Netherlands
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.