Project description
The role of viruses in controlling nitrogen pollution
Modern demands for food and energy are associated with increased use of reactive nitrogen (Nr) in agriculture. However, accumulation of Nr drives environmental damage and threatens human and animal health. Wastewater treatment helps reduce Nr release into the environment, but viruses present in treatment systems significantly affect the process. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the ReNVi project will investigate how viruses influence the Nr conversion process, which is carried out by microbial nitrifiers and denitrifiers. Researchers will study the ecology within wastewater treatment plants to understand virus interactions with the Nr converting microorganisms. The generated knowledge will be crucial for improving the efficiency and sustainability of wastewater treatment.
Objective
In order to sustain the global food-energy-population dynamic of the anthropocene, mankind is ever-increasingly converting unreactive dinitrogen (N2) to reactive N (Nr), which then results in a cascade of positive (food and energy for people) and negative (damage to people, climate, biodiversity, and environment) impacts as Nr is distributed throughout Earth systems. To protect Earth’s ecosystems and drinking water supply and to mitigate climate change the discharge of Nr to the environment must be reduced. Even though wastewater treatment helps to reduce the load of Nr released to the environment, the wastewater treatment industry is still one of the major Nr-polluting sectors. Viruses are an important, but poorly explored, component of this system, reaching 10–1000-fold higher concentrations than in other aquatic systems. We propose that viruses are significant yet poorly understood regulators of efficient removal of Nr in wastewater treatment systems. The proposed project will bridge gaps of knowledge about the importance of viruses for Nr conversion processes in wastewater by specifically focusing on the interplay between host selectivity, alteration of host metabolism and abundance, genetics, and ecology of viruses from wastewater treatment plants. Making use of culture-independent techniques such as DNA-and RNA-SIP-targeted metagenomics and metatranscriptomics, as well as culture-dependent methods including physiological assays of newly established viral cultures the proposed project will deliver knowledge to what extent viruses regulate the removal of Nr from wastewater via symbiotic or lytic interactions with nitrifiers and denitrifiers. The outcomes of the project will provide fundamental insights to viral ecology and inform efforts for more efficient and sustainable operation of wastewater treatment plants.
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 virology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
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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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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.
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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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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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370 05 Ceske Budejovice
Czechia
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