Innovating Works

MORPHEUS

Financiado
Deciphering Bacteria induced Morphogenesis and Protection in marine Eukaryotes
Symbiotic bacteria play critical roles in animal evolution, development and metabolism. The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these fundamental interactions, however, are largely unknown. To fill this major knowledge... Symbiotic bacteria play critical roles in animal evolution, development and metabolism. The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these fundamental interactions, however, are largely unknown. To fill this major knowledge gap, I will establish the bacteria-Hydractinia symbiosis as a new model system to fully characterize key cross-kingdom signalling molecules and response mechanisms. The results of my ERC proposal (MORPHEUS) will lead to ground-breaking insights into molecular drivers of eukaryotic morphogenesis, illuminate the evolutionary history of developmental signals for animals – including humans – and provide new chemical scaffolds with intrinsic biological activities that are urgently needed for drug discovery. The marine colonial hydroid Hydractinia belongs to an early branching metazoan lineage, dating back more than 500 million years. The organism reproduces through a larval stage, which upon perception of yet unidentified bacterial morphogenic signals, produced within marine bacterial biofilms, undergoes transformation into the mature organism. In the absence of the bacterial signals, the larva fails to settle and eventually dies. This fundamental process is the basis of this proposal. Capitalizing from my recent pioneering work, I will address the following pressing research questions: Which bacterial signals ensure larval recruitment and metamorphosis? How are bacterial signalling molecules perceived? How is the system protected against alien species? I will apply an innovative combination of state-of-the-art methodologies developed within the fields of natural product and synthetic organic chemistry, microbiology and molecular biology to pursue an in-depth biochemical analysis of this paradigmatic system. Results of MORPHEUS will be transformative for many scientific branches across biological and chemical disciplines, and directly impact the development of sustainable anti-biofouling and drug discovery strategies. ver más
31/10/2024
HZI
1M€
Duración del proyecto: 72 meses Fecha Inicio: 2018-10-22
Fecha Fin: 2024-10-31

Línea de financiación: concedida

El organismo H2020 notifico la concesión del proyecto el día 2024-10-31
Línea de financiación objetivo El proyecto se financió a través de la siguiente ayuda:
ERC-2018-STG: ERC Starting Grant
Cerrada hace 7 años
Presupuesto El presupuesto total del proyecto asciende a 1M€
Líder del proyecto
HELMHOLTZZENTRUM FUR INFEKTIONSFORSCHUNG GMBH No se ha especificado una descripción o un objeto social para esta compañía.
Perfil tecnológico TRL 4-5