Project description
Insight into the impact of bacteria on their surroundings
Bacteria possess tiny propellers known as flagella, which enable them to swim in various microbial habitats. Bacterial motility is often affected by the complex interplay with fluid flow and is driven by both cell–fluid interactions and cell–cell forces. Although the dynamics of these interactions have been thoroughly investigated, little is known about the reciprocal relationship between bacteria and their habitats. The EU-funded SIMMS project is interested to understand how the collective motion of many motile microbes can influence their surroundings. The idea is that collective bacterial flow can change the structure of habitats rendering bacteria ecosystem engineers.
Objective
Boundaries govern the hydrodynamics of swimming microbes, both affecting individual and collective motion. However, in vivo circumstances are vastly more perplexing because biological surroundings are adaptive. While previous work has productively considered complications to individual swimmer dynamics, it has neglected mechanoreciprocity, the bi-directional relationship between cells and their material surroundings. This research program proposes that the collective dynamics exhibited by swimming bacteria play a presently overlooked role in restructuring their material surroundings as active “ecosystem engineers.” This proposal seeks to uncover whether the active hydrodynamic stresses due to the collective motion of many motile microbes can be sufficient to mechanically induce structural changes to their material environments. Crucially, this will, in turn, modify swimmer dynamics, creating a reciprocal relationship between the microbes and their surroundings. Thus, this research program seeks to establish the new research direction of Swimming-Induced Mechanoresponsive Material Stigmergy (SIMMS). Through a series of coarse-grained particle-based numerical simulations of many swimming microbes and their pliable surrounding, this proposal will try to find evidence of mechanoreciprocity due to active hydrodynamic stresses generated by collective bacterial flows. Activity-driven restructuring of responsive micro-environments would not only represent an embodiment of biophysical multi-scale self-organised complexity, but also open pathways for regulating bacteria dynamics to aid biodegradation, hinder contamination and combat medical 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
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
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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-2020
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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.
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.