Objective
"Almost all bacterial species generate persisters, individual cells that are tolerant to antibiotics. Persisters have entered a dormant or slow growing state in which they are recalcitrant to the killing activity of most known antibiotics. The molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial persistence are unknown and there is a pressing need to develop new methods and approaches to study the phenomenon. We discovered recently that RNA endonucleases (RNases) encoded by toxin - antitoxin (TA) genes are required for persistence of the model bacterium Escherichia coli. We have shown that the RNases inhibit translation by cleavage of mRNA or tRNA and that their activation halts cell growth and induces persistence. We propose a testable model in which persistence is induced by stochastic activation of the RNases. Almost all free-living bacteria, including many serious pathogens, have TA genes, often in multiple or even many copies. For example, the major pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which can persist in the human body for many years, has at least 88 TA loci. This proposal describes a research program dedicated to develop novel general methods to study the persistence phenomenon and to test the hypothesis that TA loci are central to bacterial persistence. The implementation of novel, leading edge technologies will allow a profound understanding of the persistence phenomenon. Mechanistic insight into the persistence problem, in turn, will provide a basis for a rational approach to the development of drugs and drug administration regimes that may improve treatment of persistent infections."
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
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine pneumology tuberculosis
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
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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.
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.
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.
ERC-2011-ADG_20110310
See other projects for this call
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.
Host institution
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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.