Objective
Advances in molecular evolution led to the novel concept of ancestral resurrections, or reconstructions. These allow the exploration of the mechanisms by which new protein families diverged. Reconstructed ancestors are also inherently more prone to functional divergence, and exhibit higher thermal stability, making them more tolerant to mutations, and potentially more evolvable. However, to date, very few ancestors have been resurrected, and the experimental methodologies are still lacking. I aim to develop and apply ancestor resurrections techniques. My first model will be the serum paraoxonase (PON) family. Widespread in vertebrates and bacteria, PONs’ physiological roles span from preventing atherosclerosis to bacterial quorum quenching. Going backwards into PON’s history, we will reconstruct PON’s last common vertebrate ancestor, and acquire insights regarding the divergence of various PON families. The ancestor’s properties (enzymatic and structural) may inform us, for example, how vertebrate PONs emerged from bacterial PONs that acted in quorum quenching. The ancestor, stable and soluble, would also provide an ideal starting point for directed evolution and structural determination. Once the methodologies are developed, other proteins will be subjected to a similar study with the aim of turning ancestor resurrections into a general and powerful tool for protein engineering and structural determination.
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 earth and related environmental sciences geology mineralogy crystallography
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology molecular evolution
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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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF
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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.
Coordinator
7610001 Rehovot
Israel
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.