Project description
Untangling the mechanisms of insecticide resistance in sandflies
Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by an infection with Leishmania, a protozoa parasite typically found in tropical and subtropical parts of the world and comprising over 20 species. Leishmaniasis is transmitted by sandflies, over 90 species of which are known to be vectors. Insecticides are used to control infections by controlling sandfly populations, but sandflies have developed resistance. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the LeVec project aims to reveal the genetic and functional mechanisms of resistance to pyrethroid insecticides in sandfly populations collected in Tunisia. The outcomes will improve the ability to track sandfly resistance and develop mitigation strategies, including disrupting the parasites’ ability to infect sandflies.
Objective
Leishmania, transmitted by sand flies, comes second only to malaria in terms of parasitic causative fatalities globally. Tunisia, as well as the Mediterranean region are endemic for the disease, reporting hundreds of cases annually. In the absence of human vaccines, controlling the population size of sand flies using insecticides is a key component of leishmaniasis control efforts. Nevertheless, the reliance on insecticides has triggered the selection of resistance, which is threatening the efficacy of sand fly vector control programs. The molecular aetiology behind the insecticide resistance status of sand flies, unlike other insect vectors, remains largely unknown. The aim of LeVec is to unravel the mechanisms that underpin resistance to pyrethroid insecticides in sand fly populations, collected in Tunisia. I will use comparative transcriptomic analysis to identify genes differentially expressed in resistant individuals and functionally validate their role using state of the art in vitro (biochemical assays) and in vivo (transgenesis and CRISPR genome editing) approaches. The outcomes will substantially improve our ability to track the phenomenon of sand fly resistance in the field and design mitigation strategies. Furthermore, LeVec aims to identify genes that determine the ability of sand flies to transmit the Leishmania parasites. For that I will focus on the sand flys midgut, the site where the complete development of the Leishmania parasites takes place, and perform comparative expression analysis, using a unique collection of 12 sand fly species with different degrees of vector competence. Silencing of candidate genes followed by experimental infections will allow me to validate their role in Leishmania transmission. The outcomes of this analysis will help the design of novel Leishmania control tools, based on disrupting the adherence and/or development of parasites within the sand fly vector.
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.
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases parasitic diseases malaria
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
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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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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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.
700 13 IRAKLEIO
Greece
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.