Objective
This project aims at the identification of the genes controlling the innate immune response in mosquitoes infected with the malaria parasite, Plasmodium. There is ample evidence that mosquitoes and the malaria parasite have co-evolved and that the immune system of the mosquito greatly affects the ability of the parasite to undergo rather complex development in the insect. A large number of genes are involved in insect immunity, most of which have been identified in Anopheles gambiae. In order to debilitate the insect's immune response system (and thus lower its fitness), ideally one would want to identify genes specific to a particular mosquito species and particular parasite species. The fact that the deadliest form of human malaria, that caused by P. falciparum, is transmitted by only five species of Anopheles in continental Africa and these represent four independent evolutionarily events, is of outmost importance for the current project. The four natural replicates will be used to determine the common pat terns specifically associated with the specific species of malaria parasite. In particular, the patterns of amino acid substitutions in genes involved in the insect's immune system will be analyzed. Adequate evidence exists in support of the view that prot eins involved in host-parasite interactions undergo rapid evolution when the association arises. This association has arisen four independent times, thus making the evolutionary approach to identify crucial proteins particularly promising. Hundreds or thou sands of years of evolution will be exploited in order to reveal specific interactions that have arisen under natural conditions.
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 immunology
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology molecular evolution
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
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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.
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.
FP6-2004-MOBILITY-6
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.
OIF - Marie Curie actions-Outgoing International Fellowships
Coordinator
HERAKLION
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.