Project description
The secrets of Bacteroides in the gut microbiome
The gut microbiome, composed of bacteria, archaea, and viruses, plays a crucial role in human health; yet the cell biology of its key members remains largely unexplored. Among these, Bacteroides spp. are vital in digesting complex carbohydrates, regulating the immune system, and maintaining intestinal neurotransmitters. Despite their importance, little is known about their cellular organisation, growth, division, and DNA replication. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the BACPRO project aims to deepen our understanding of Bacteroides spp. by studying their intraspecific diversity using high-throughput single-cell phenomics. This research could uncover essential insights into the simple rules of cell cycle control, offering promising applications for diagnostics and therapy.
Objective
The gut hosts a complex community of bacteria, archaea, and viruses, which together play a key role in shaping human health. The microbiome has featured in extensive metagenomic studies, uncovering tremendous diversity. However, there is remarkably little research on the cell biology of the microbiomes constituent members. Among the most influential members of the gut microbiome is the genus Bacteroides, which has been implicated in digesting complex carbohydrates, maturation and regulation of the immune system, and regulating intestinal neurotransmitters. There is also significant interest in engineering Bacteroides spp. as promising candidates for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Despite their clear relevance for human health, we lack knowledge on fundamental aspects of Bacteroides proliferation (i.e. their cellular organisation, mechanisms underlying their growth, cell division, DNA replication, or their growth preferences). Such information is essential and represents previously unexplored bacterial cell biology, given Bacteroides must adapt to an incredibly transient environment that shifts rapidly from feast to famine while contending with a constant stream of variable stressors. This project seeks to advance our knowledge of Bacteroides spp. by examining intraspecific diversity, utilising tractable Bacteroides strains, and leveraging the Govers lab high-throughput single cell phenomics (HTSCP) methodology. I hypothesise that Bacteroides spp. utilise simple rules of cell cycle control, similar to those recently identified in Escherichia coli by Govers et al., to ensure robust cellular replication across many conditions. Such unifying principles integrate cell cycle and growth rate with cell size, while enabling plasticity, allowing cells to respond to their environments. Understanding these rules and identifying their underlying mechanisms will provide indispensable information for furthering studies of the Bacteroides and developing their utility.
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 genetics DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules carbohydrates
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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)
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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-2024-PF-01
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3000 Leuven
Belgium
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