Project acronym AVIAN DIMORPHISM
Project The genomic and transcriptomic locus of sex-specific selection in birds
Researcher (PI) Judith Elizabeth Mank
Host Institution (HI) University College London
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS8, ERC-2010-StG_20091118
Summary It has long been understood that genes contribute to phenotypes that are then the basis of selection. However, the nature and process of this relationship remains largely theoretical, and the relative contribution of change in gene expression and coding sequence to phenotypic diversification is unclear. The aim of this proposal is to fuse information about sexually dimorphic phenotypes, the mating systems and sexually antagonistic selective agents that shape sexual dimorphism, and the sex-biased gene expression patterns that encode sexual dimorphisms, in order to create a cohesive integrated understanding of the relationship between evolution, the genome, and the animal form. The primary approach of this project is to harnesses emergent DNA sequencing technologies in order to measure evolutionary change in gene expression and coding sequence in response to different sex-specific selection regimes in a clade of birds with divergent mating systems. Sex-specific selection pressures arise in large part as a consequence of mating system, however males and females share nearly identical genomes, especially in the vertebrates where the sex chromosomes house very small proportions of the overall transcriptome. This single shared genome creates sex-specific phenotypes via different gene expression levels in females and males, and these sex-biased genes connect sexual dimorphisms, and the sexually antagonistic selection pressures that shape them, with the regions of the genome that encode them.
The Galloanserae (fowl and waterfowl) will be used to in the proposed project, as this clade combines the necessary requirements of both variation in mating systems and a well-conserved reference genome (chicken). The study species selected from within the Galloanserae for the proposal exhibit a range of sexual dimorphism and sperm competition, and this will be exploited with next generation (454 and Illumina) genomic and transcriptomic data to study the gene expression patterns that underlie sexual dimorphisms, and the evolutionary pressures acting on them. This work will be complemented by the development of mathematical models of sex-specific evolution that will be tested against the gene expression and gene sequence data in order to understand the mechanisms by which sex-specific selection regimes, arising largely from mating systems, shape the phenotype via the genome.
Summary
It has long been understood that genes contribute to phenotypes that are then the basis of selection. However, the nature and process of this relationship remains largely theoretical, and the relative contribution of change in gene expression and coding sequence to phenotypic diversification is unclear. The aim of this proposal is to fuse information about sexually dimorphic phenotypes, the mating systems and sexually antagonistic selective agents that shape sexual dimorphism, and the sex-biased gene expression patterns that encode sexual dimorphisms, in order to create a cohesive integrated understanding of the relationship between evolution, the genome, and the animal form. The primary approach of this project is to harnesses emergent DNA sequencing technologies in order to measure evolutionary change in gene expression and coding sequence in response to different sex-specific selection regimes in a clade of birds with divergent mating systems. Sex-specific selection pressures arise in large part as a consequence of mating system, however males and females share nearly identical genomes, especially in the vertebrates where the sex chromosomes house very small proportions of the overall transcriptome. This single shared genome creates sex-specific phenotypes via different gene expression levels in females and males, and these sex-biased genes connect sexual dimorphisms, and the sexually antagonistic selection pressures that shape them, with the regions of the genome that encode them.
The Galloanserae (fowl and waterfowl) will be used to in the proposed project, as this clade combines the necessary requirements of both variation in mating systems and a well-conserved reference genome (chicken). The study species selected from within the Galloanserae for the proposal exhibit a range of sexual dimorphism and sperm competition, and this will be exploited with next generation (454 and Illumina) genomic and transcriptomic data to study the gene expression patterns that underlie sexual dimorphisms, and the evolutionary pressures acting on them. This work will be complemented by the development of mathematical models of sex-specific evolution that will be tested against the gene expression and gene sequence data in order to understand the mechanisms by which sex-specific selection regimes, arising largely from mating systems, shape the phenotype via the genome.
Max ERC Funding
1 350 804 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2016-07-31
Project acronym BLUELEAF
Project The adaptive advantages, evolution and development of iridescence in leaves
Researcher (PI) Heather Whitney
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS8, ERC-2010-StG_20091118
Summary Iridescence is a form of structural colour which changes hue according to the angle from which it is viewed. Blue iridescence caused by multilayers has been described on the leaves of taxonomically diverse species such as the lycophyte Selaginella uncinata and the angiosperm Begonia pavonina. While much is known about the role of leaf pigment colour, the adaptive role of leaf iridescence is unknown. Hypotheses have been put forward including 1) iridescence acts as disruptive camouflage against herbivores 2) it enhances light sensing and capture in low light conditions 3) it is a photoprotective mechanism to protect shade-adapted plants against high light levels. These hypotheses are not mutually exclusive: each function may be of varying importance in different environments. To understand any one function, we need a interdisciplinary approach considering all three potential functions and their interactions. The objective of my research would be to test these hypotheses, using animal behavioural and plant physiological methods, to determine the functions of leaf iridescence and how the plant has adapted to the reflection of developmentally vital wavelengths. Use of molecular and bioinformatics methods will elucidate the genes that control the production of this potentially multifunctional optical phenomenon. This research will provide a pioneering study into the generation, developmental impact and adaptive significance of iridescence in leaves. It would also answer questions at the frontiers of several fields including those of plant evolution, insect vision, methods of camouflage, the generation and role of animal iridescence, and could also potentially inspire synthetic biomimetic applications.
Summary
Iridescence is a form of structural colour which changes hue according to the angle from which it is viewed. Blue iridescence caused by multilayers has been described on the leaves of taxonomically diverse species such as the lycophyte Selaginella uncinata and the angiosperm Begonia pavonina. While much is known about the role of leaf pigment colour, the adaptive role of leaf iridescence is unknown. Hypotheses have been put forward including 1) iridescence acts as disruptive camouflage against herbivores 2) it enhances light sensing and capture in low light conditions 3) it is a photoprotective mechanism to protect shade-adapted plants against high light levels. These hypotheses are not mutually exclusive: each function may be of varying importance in different environments. To understand any one function, we need a interdisciplinary approach considering all three potential functions and their interactions. The objective of my research would be to test these hypotheses, using animal behavioural and plant physiological methods, to determine the functions of leaf iridescence and how the plant has adapted to the reflection of developmentally vital wavelengths. Use of molecular and bioinformatics methods will elucidate the genes that control the production of this potentially multifunctional optical phenomenon. This research will provide a pioneering study into the generation, developmental impact and adaptive significance of iridescence in leaves. It would also answer questions at the frontiers of several fields including those of plant evolution, insect vision, methods of camouflage, the generation and role of animal iridescence, and could also potentially inspire synthetic biomimetic applications.
Max ERC Funding
1 118 378 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2016-07-31
Project acronym COSMOLAB
Project Laboratory simulation of cosmological magnetic fields
Researcher (PI) Gianluca Gregori
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE2, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary The advent of high-power laser systems in the past two decades has opened a new field of research where astrophysical environments can be scaled down to laboratory dimensions, yet preserving the essential physics. This is due to the invariance of the equations of ideal magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) to a class of self-similar transformations. In this proposal, we will apply these scaling laws to investigate the dynamics of the high Mach number shocks arising during the formation of the large-scale structure of the Universe. Although at the beginning of cosmic evolution matter was nearly homogenously distributed, today, as a result of gravitational instability, it forms a web-like structure made of filaments and clusters. Gas continues to accrete supersonically onto these collapsed structures, thus producing high Mach number shocks. It has been recently proposed that generation of magnetic fields can occur at these cosmic shocks on a cosmologically fast timescale via a Weibel-like instability, thus providing an appealing explanation to the ubiquitous magnetization of the Universe. Our proposal will thus provide the first experimental evidence of such mechanisms. We plan to measure the self-generated magnetic fields from laboratory shock waves using a novel combination of electron deflectometry, Faraday rotation measurements using THz lasers, and dB/dt probes. The proposed investigation on the generation of magnetic fields at shocks via plasma instabilities bears important general consequences. First, it will shed light on the origin of cosmic magnetic fields. Second, it would have a tremendous impact on one of the greatest puzzles of high energy astrophysics, the origin of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays. We plan to assess the role of charged particle acceleration via collisionless shocks in the amplification of the magnetic field as well as measure the spectrum of such accelerated particles. The experimental work will be carried both at Oxford U and at laser facilities.
Summary
The advent of high-power laser systems in the past two decades has opened a new field of research where astrophysical environments can be scaled down to laboratory dimensions, yet preserving the essential physics. This is due to the invariance of the equations of ideal magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) to a class of self-similar transformations. In this proposal, we will apply these scaling laws to investigate the dynamics of the high Mach number shocks arising during the formation of the large-scale structure of the Universe. Although at the beginning of cosmic evolution matter was nearly homogenously distributed, today, as a result of gravitational instability, it forms a web-like structure made of filaments and clusters. Gas continues to accrete supersonically onto these collapsed structures, thus producing high Mach number shocks. It has been recently proposed that generation of magnetic fields can occur at these cosmic shocks on a cosmologically fast timescale via a Weibel-like instability, thus providing an appealing explanation to the ubiquitous magnetization of the Universe. Our proposal will thus provide the first experimental evidence of such mechanisms. We plan to measure the self-generated magnetic fields from laboratory shock waves using a novel combination of electron deflectometry, Faraday rotation measurements using THz lasers, and dB/dt probes. The proposed investigation on the generation of magnetic fields at shocks via plasma instabilities bears important general consequences. First, it will shed light on the origin of cosmic magnetic fields. Second, it would have a tremendous impact on one of the greatest puzzles of high energy astrophysics, the origin of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays. We plan to assess the role of charged particle acceleration via collisionless shocks in the amplification of the magnetic field as well as measure the spectrum of such accelerated particles. The experimental work will be carried both at Oxford U and at laser facilities.
Max ERC Funding
1 119 690 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-12-01, End date: 2015-11-30
Project acronym CROSSROADS
Project Crossroads of empires: archaeology, material culture and socio-political relationships in West Africa
Researcher (PI) Anne Claire Haour
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH6, ERC-2010-StG_20091209
Summary Knowledge of the last 1000 years in the West African Sahel comes largely from historical sources, which say that many regions were ruled by vast polities.
The aim of my archaeological project is to seize how, in fact, lhe 'empires' of this region structured the landscape, and the movemenl of peoples, ideas, and
things, with a focus on the period AD 1200-1850. Is 'empire' really a useful term? I will confront historical evidence with archaeological data from one area at
the intersection of several polities: the dallols in Niger. This area is rich in remains, said to result from population movements and processes of religious and
political change, but these remains have been only briefly described so far. As this region is a key area of migrations and cross-influences, it is the ideal
'laboratory' for exploring the materialisation of contacts and boundaries, through a mapping of material culture distributions.
My project will approach these sites holistically, carrying out archaeological regional survey and prospection. Excavation will indicate chronology and cultural
affiliation. At lhe same time, I will take an interdisciplinary approach, using anthropological and oral-historical enquiries to obtain background information to
test hypotheses generated by the archaeological data. Enquiries will assess how material culture can show group belonging and population shifts, and
examine the role of individuals called 'technical specialists'. This will help solve the current impasse in our understanding of vast empires which, though they
are historically known, remain poorly understood.
My project will not just improve our knowledge of an almost-unknown part of the world, but thanks to its geographical location, interdisciplinary nature and
strong thematic framework, open up avenues of thinking about the relalion between archaeological and historical data, the mediation of relations through
artefacts, and the archaeology of empires, all widely-relevant research issues
Summary
Knowledge of the last 1000 years in the West African Sahel comes largely from historical sources, which say that many regions were ruled by vast polities.
The aim of my archaeological project is to seize how, in fact, lhe 'empires' of this region structured the landscape, and the movemenl of peoples, ideas, and
things, with a focus on the period AD 1200-1850. Is 'empire' really a useful term? I will confront historical evidence with archaeological data from one area at
the intersection of several polities: the dallols in Niger. This area is rich in remains, said to result from population movements and processes of religious and
political change, but these remains have been only briefly described so far. As this region is a key area of migrations and cross-influences, it is the ideal
'laboratory' for exploring the materialisation of contacts and boundaries, through a mapping of material culture distributions.
My project will approach these sites holistically, carrying out archaeological regional survey and prospection. Excavation will indicate chronology and cultural
affiliation. At lhe same time, I will take an interdisciplinary approach, using anthropological and oral-historical enquiries to obtain background information to
test hypotheses generated by the archaeological data. Enquiries will assess how material culture can show group belonging and population shifts, and
examine the role of individuals called 'technical specialists'. This will help solve the current impasse in our understanding of vast empires which, though they
are historically known, remain poorly understood.
My project will not just improve our knowledge of an almost-unknown part of the world, but thanks to its geographical location, interdisciplinary nature and
strong thematic framework, open up avenues of thinking about the relalion between archaeological and historical data, the mediation of relations through
artefacts, and the archaeology of empires, all widely-relevant research issues
Max ERC Funding
893 161 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31
Project acronym EARLYPOWERONTOLOGIES
Project Causal Structuralist Ontologies in Antiquity: Powers as the basic building block of the worlds of the ancients
Researcher (PI) Anna Marmodoro
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH4, ERC-2010-StG_20091209
Summary The project aims to bring about a paradigm shift in our understanding of how the ancients conceived of the universe and its contents over a period of 9 centuries, 600 BC to 300 AD. The driving research hypothesis is that the sole elementary building blocks of nearly all ancient ontologies are powers, from which all there is in the universe is built. Powers are relational properties which are directed towards an end (e.g. the power to heat); thus a world of powers is structured in a web of causal relations. What is revolutionary about such a world is that there is only structure in it; hence, causal structuralist ontologies underlie object-metaphysics or process-metaphysics, and worlds of being and becoming, supplying structures from which objects and processes are derived. Yet such ontologies have never been investigated about ancient thought.
The project’s topic is new: ancient causal structuralism; the speciality is novel too, requiring targeted training of a team of post-doc researchers which will be provided by the applicant and collaborators. The innovativeness of the methodology consists in training ancient philosophy researchers to discern and identify formal aspects of ontologies at the very roots of human rationality – discerning how the ancients built everything out of power structures.
The paradigm shift will generate new knowledge and understanding about the ancient accounts of the world; provide a heuristic vantage point for redrafting the map of the intellectual influences between ancient thinkers; stimulate fruitful debate; and inspire new insights into ancient thought that are literally unthinkable at present. Cognate disciplines that will be affected by the paradigm shift are such as: history of physics; of mathematics; of theology; ancient anthropology.
Summary
The project aims to bring about a paradigm shift in our understanding of how the ancients conceived of the universe and its contents over a period of 9 centuries, 600 BC to 300 AD. The driving research hypothesis is that the sole elementary building blocks of nearly all ancient ontologies are powers, from which all there is in the universe is built. Powers are relational properties which are directed towards an end (e.g. the power to heat); thus a world of powers is structured in a web of causal relations. What is revolutionary about such a world is that there is only structure in it; hence, causal structuralist ontologies underlie object-metaphysics or process-metaphysics, and worlds of being and becoming, supplying structures from which objects and processes are derived. Yet such ontologies have never been investigated about ancient thought.
The project’s topic is new: ancient causal structuralism; the speciality is novel too, requiring targeted training of a team of post-doc researchers which will be provided by the applicant and collaborators. The innovativeness of the methodology consists in training ancient philosophy researchers to discern and identify formal aspects of ontologies at the very roots of human rationality – discerning how the ancients built everything out of power structures.
The paradigm shift will generate new knowledge and understanding about the ancient accounts of the world; provide a heuristic vantage point for redrafting the map of the intellectual influences between ancient thinkers; stimulate fruitful debate; and inspire new insights into ancient thought that are literally unthinkable at present. Cognate disciplines that will be affected by the paradigm shift are such as: history of physics; of mathematics; of theology; ancient anthropology.
Max ERC Funding
1 228 581 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-04-01, End date: 2016-03-31
Project acronym EVOCHANGE
Project Complex adaptation in photosynthetic microbes evolving in response to global change
Researcher (PI) Sinead Andrea Collins
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS8, ERC-2010-StG_20091118
Summary Microbes evolve rapidly in changing environments, and global change may soon cause future microbial populations to differ genetically and phenotypically from contemporary populations. We have both pragmatic and intellectual interests in microbial evolution, especially when microbial communities perform important ecological services. For example, marine phytoplankton are responsible for half of global primary production, and make up the biological carbon sink in oceans. However, marine environments are changing in complex ways, and future global carbon and energy cycles may depend heavily on how phytoplankton evolve in response to global change.
My research will study how photosynthetic microbes evolve in complex environments. First, I will use mathematical models and experimental evolution in a microalgal model system to compare phenotypic changes between populations that have evolved either in an environment where many variables change simultaneously, or in an environment where only one variable changes at a time. Second, I will use the same model system to study if and how heritable epigenetic change, such as methylation and miRNA regulation, affects long-term adaptation. Both sets of experiments will use environmental shifts that are associated with global change, thus providing information specific to marine phytoplankton evolution, as well as insight into fundamental evolutionary processes. Finally, I will use RAD sequening in natural algal isolates from high CO2 environments to map and produce a list of candidate loci that may have contributed to long-term evolution in elevated CO2. The results of this work will significantly improve our ability to use evolutionary theory to understand how microbes are likely to change over the coming decades.
Summary
Microbes evolve rapidly in changing environments, and global change may soon cause future microbial populations to differ genetically and phenotypically from contemporary populations. We have both pragmatic and intellectual interests in microbial evolution, especially when microbial communities perform important ecological services. For example, marine phytoplankton are responsible for half of global primary production, and make up the biological carbon sink in oceans. However, marine environments are changing in complex ways, and future global carbon and energy cycles may depend heavily on how phytoplankton evolve in response to global change.
My research will study how photosynthetic microbes evolve in complex environments. First, I will use mathematical models and experimental evolution in a microalgal model system to compare phenotypic changes between populations that have evolved either in an environment where many variables change simultaneously, or in an environment where only one variable changes at a time. Second, I will use the same model system to study if and how heritable epigenetic change, such as methylation and miRNA regulation, affects long-term adaptation. Both sets of experiments will use environmental shifts that are associated with global change, thus providing information specific to marine phytoplankton evolution, as well as insight into fundamental evolutionary processes. Finally, I will use RAD sequening in natural algal isolates from high CO2 environments to map and produce a list of candidate loci that may have contributed to long-term evolution in elevated CO2. The results of this work will significantly improve our ability to use evolutionary theory to understand how microbes are likely to change over the coming decades.
Max ERC Funding
1 492 338 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-05-01, End date: 2017-04-30
Project acronym LIGHTNING
Project Charge separation, lightning and radio emission in low-mass objects
Researcher (PI) Christiane Helling
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE9, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary This project will investigate the hypothesis that dust clouds are a major source of charge separation and discharge processes in very low mass, extrasolar objects like M-dwarfs, Brown-Dwarfs, and planets. The aim is to model charging, dust formation and sedimentation in dusty media to understand how the atmospheric ionisation mechanisms change at the border from stars to planets in the M-dwarf--Brown-Dwarf transition region where radio emission starst to exceed X-ray emission, and to investigate the physics and the occurrence of intra-cloud lightning outside our solar system. Lightning is suggested to have triggered the occurrence of life on Earth.
Dusty media are generally very common on Earth and in space, for example in volcano plumes that influence the local climate on Earth, on Mars where it blocks Mars-Rover's wheels, in dust-clouds in Brown Dwarfs and planets which determine their chemistry and their detectability, or in planet-forming disks. All have in common that dust of mixed composition is abundant in a turbulent environment in a variety of sizes. This project will perform a characterisation of dusty astrophysical plasma, systemically study charge separation processes and draw comparison to known scenarios in volcanos and Martian plasmas. The project determines stellar parameter and dust cloud characteristics (e.g. cloud height) for which dust cloud charging becomes important, and under which conditions lightning can occur. A charge conservation model will be coupled to a non-equilibrium chemistry to search for discharge-related molecules and for pre-biotic molecules that might occur during lightning. Applications to standard model atmospheres will be carried out to study the influence on the spectral energy distribution and the object's albedo. The long-term aim of this project is to solve the dust and charge conservation equations together with the magnetic field equations in order to study the development of radio emission in low-mass objects.
Summary
This project will investigate the hypothesis that dust clouds are a major source of charge separation and discharge processes in very low mass, extrasolar objects like M-dwarfs, Brown-Dwarfs, and planets. The aim is to model charging, dust formation and sedimentation in dusty media to understand how the atmospheric ionisation mechanisms change at the border from stars to planets in the M-dwarf--Brown-Dwarf transition region where radio emission starst to exceed X-ray emission, and to investigate the physics and the occurrence of intra-cloud lightning outside our solar system. Lightning is suggested to have triggered the occurrence of life on Earth.
Dusty media are generally very common on Earth and in space, for example in volcano plumes that influence the local climate on Earth, on Mars where it blocks Mars-Rover's wheels, in dust-clouds in Brown Dwarfs and planets which determine their chemistry and their detectability, or in planet-forming disks. All have in common that dust of mixed composition is abundant in a turbulent environment in a variety of sizes. This project will perform a characterisation of dusty astrophysical plasma, systemically study charge separation processes and draw comparison to known scenarios in volcanos and Martian plasmas. The project determines stellar parameter and dust cloud characteristics (e.g. cloud height) for which dust cloud charging becomes important, and under which conditions lightning can occur. A charge conservation model will be coupled to a non-equilibrium chemistry to search for discharge-related molecules and for pre-biotic molecules that might occur during lightning. Applications to standard model atmospheres will be carried out to study the influence on the spectral energy distribution and the object's albedo. The long-term aim of this project is to solve the dust and charge conservation equations together with the magnetic field equations in order to study the development of radio emission in low-mass objects.
Max ERC Funding
1 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-03-01, End date: 2017-02-28
Project acronym LISTA-LTA
Project A functional analysis of Listeria and Staphylococcus lipoteichoic acid
Researcher (PI) Angelika Grundling
Host Institution (HI) IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS6, ERC-2010-StG_20091118
Summary This proposal aims to provide insight into the physiological function of lipoteichoic acid (LTA) in the two Gram-positive bacterial pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. LTA is an essential component of the envelope in Gram-positive bacteria. While the chemical structure of this polymer was elucidated several decades ago, the key genetic determinants for its synthesis have been identified only recently. These genetic studies made it clear that LTA has a crucial function within the cell, as absence of LTA severely impairs bacterial growth; a cell that lacks LTA has an aberrant cell shape and does not form normal division septa, but the molecular mechanism underlying these defects is not understood. With the recently developed mutants in the LTA synthesis pathway, we can now begin to address these questions. It is particularly intriguing that the absence of LTA on the outside of the cell influences the function and localization of FtsZ, the key cytoplasmic protein involved in the cell division process. However nothing is known about the molecular mechanism that links these two fundamental cellular processes.
Upon consolidating my research group and with the experiments outlined in this application, I propose to investigate the molecular mechanism that links LTA synthesis with other fundamental cellular processes such as cell division and regulation of cell shape, provide insight into the structure and function of key enzymes involved in LTA synthesis, provide insight into the link between LTA synthesis and membrane lipid turnover and its functional consequences and determine the role of LTA as anchor for cell wall envelope proteins.
Summary
This proposal aims to provide insight into the physiological function of lipoteichoic acid (LTA) in the two Gram-positive bacterial pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. LTA is an essential component of the envelope in Gram-positive bacteria. While the chemical structure of this polymer was elucidated several decades ago, the key genetic determinants for its synthesis have been identified only recently. These genetic studies made it clear that LTA has a crucial function within the cell, as absence of LTA severely impairs bacterial growth; a cell that lacks LTA has an aberrant cell shape and does not form normal division septa, but the molecular mechanism underlying these defects is not understood. With the recently developed mutants in the LTA synthesis pathway, we can now begin to address these questions. It is particularly intriguing that the absence of LTA on the outside of the cell influences the function and localization of FtsZ, the key cytoplasmic protein involved in the cell division process. However nothing is known about the molecular mechanism that links these two fundamental cellular processes.
Upon consolidating my research group and with the experiments outlined in this application, I propose to investigate the molecular mechanism that links LTA synthesis with other fundamental cellular processes such as cell division and regulation of cell shape, provide insight into the structure and function of key enzymes involved in LTA synthesis, provide insight into the link between LTA synthesis and membrane lipid turnover and its functional consequences and determine the role of LTA as anchor for cell wall envelope proteins.
Max ERC Funding
1 483 505 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31
Project acronym PASSMEMBRANE
Project Passive membrane transport of organic compounds
Researcher (PI) Ulrich Felix Keyser
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARSOF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS9, ERC-2010-StG_20091118
Summary Passive transport through lipid membranes is ubiquitous and fundamental in living systems. The aim of this proposal is to create novel biotechnological tools to study permeation of organic compounds through lipid membranes and protein pores. In particular, I will focus on strategies employed by living organisms to optimize and regulate permeation directly through their membranes. The fundamental principles are probed by creating macroscopic model systems for biological channels and membranes. Simultaneously, new microfluidic tools will allow for a screening of biological relevant organic compounds.
Biotechnological experiments investigating permeation of organic molecules into single uni-lamellar vesicles will challenge the dogma of protein controlled membranes transport. Indole, an important signaling molecule for E. coli, is an ideal candidate to demonstrate the feasibility of a novel assay based on a combination of four technologies. Microfluidics provide the controlled environment, holographic optical tweezers confine single vesicles in three dimensions to facilitate ionic current detection and simultaneous auto-fluorescence detection. This unique combination will yield a scalable technology platform to test membrane permeation. However, a deeper understanding of the molecular basis for these passive transport processes is still elusive. Theory predicts that binding potentials for molecules in a protein channel, passive transport can be optimized. Combining microfluidics with holographic optical tweezers provides the optimal means to test this quantitatively. These model experiments will prove that passive transport can be enhanced and optimized by introducing binding sites in protein channels and membranes. Furthermore, the results will guide future design of e.g. antibiotics, DNA vaccines and membrane permeating drugs and fundamentally change our understanding of passive membrane transport.
Summary
Passive transport through lipid membranes is ubiquitous and fundamental in living systems. The aim of this proposal is to create novel biotechnological tools to study permeation of organic compounds through lipid membranes and protein pores. In particular, I will focus on strategies employed by living organisms to optimize and regulate permeation directly through their membranes. The fundamental principles are probed by creating macroscopic model systems for biological channels and membranes. Simultaneously, new microfluidic tools will allow for a screening of biological relevant organic compounds.
Biotechnological experiments investigating permeation of organic molecules into single uni-lamellar vesicles will challenge the dogma of protein controlled membranes transport. Indole, an important signaling molecule for E. coli, is an ideal candidate to demonstrate the feasibility of a novel assay based on a combination of four technologies. Microfluidics provide the controlled environment, holographic optical tweezers confine single vesicles in three dimensions to facilitate ionic current detection and simultaneous auto-fluorescence detection. This unique combination will yield a scalable technology platform to test membrane permeation. However, a deeper understanding of the molecular basis for these passive transport processes is still elusive. Theory predicts that binding potentials for molecules in a protein channel, passive transport can be optimized. Combining microfluidics with holographic optical tweezers provides the optimal means to test this quantitatively. These model experiments will prove that passive transport can be enhanced and optimized by introducing binding sites in protein channels and membranes. Furthermore, the results will guide future design of e.g. antibiotics, DNA vaccines and membrane permeating drugs and fundamentally change our understanding of passive membrane transport.
Max ERC Funding
1 193 759 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-12-01, End date: 2015-06-30
Project acronym PHOTOBIOFUEL
Project Direct photobiological conversion of solar energy to volatile transport fuels
Researcher (PI) Patrik Raymond Jones
Host Institution (HI) IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS9, ERC-2010-StG_20091118
Summary The aim is to integrate photosynthetic solar energy conversion and synthesis of volatile engine-ready transport fuel in a single photobiological process. The focus is placed on the construction of phototrophic model systems for synthesis of the short-chain alkane propane (C3H8). Propane can be used in existing engines without further chemical conversion and can be easily recovered from the production process without destructive harvesting and extraction. However, no commercial biological production process exists and there is no known metabolic pathway for short-chain alkane biosynthesis. The intention is to construct a synthetic pathway for propane biosynthesis. In order to facilitate the construction, alkane biosynthetic pathways are studied in detail and genes encoding key-enzymes are isolated from diverse organisms.
In order to directly capture solar energy to drive fuel biosynthesis, the synthetic pathways are assembled in the photosynthetic model organism Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Native host metabolism is thereafter optimized to maximize the delivery of metabolic precursors and reducing energy to the synthetic pathways. In order to facilitate strain construction, cyanobacterial host strains are optimized for metabolic engineering and hydrocarbon fuel biosynthesis.
The project has the ultimate aim to generate cyanobacteria strains that synthesize short-chain alkane using only light, CO2 and H2O as substrate. The project has a clear applied target with high potential for socio-economical impact and a high risk / high gain character.
Summary
The aim is to integrate photosynthetic solar energy conversion and synthesis of volatile engine-ready transport fuel in a single photobiological process. The focus is placed on the construction of phototrophic model systems for synthesis of the short-chain alkane propane (C3H8). Propane can be used in existing engines without further chemical conversion and can be easily recovered from the production process without destructive harvesting and extraction. However, no commercial biological production process exists and there is no known metabolic pathway for short-chain alkane biosynthesis. The intention is to construct a synthetic pathway for propane biosynthesis. In order to facilitate the construction, alkane biosynthetic pathways are studied in detail and genes encoding key-enzymes are isolated from diverse organisms.
In order to directly capture solar energy to drive fuel biosynthesis, the synthetic pathways are assembled in the photosynthetic model organism Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Native host metabolism is thereafter optimized to maximize the delivery of metabolic precursors and reducing energy to the synthetic pathways. In order to facilitate strain construction, cyanobacterial host strains are optimized for metabolic engineering and hydrocarbon fuel biosynthesis.
The project has the ultimate aim to generate cyanobacteria strains that synthesize short-chain alkane using only light, CO2 and H2O as substrate. The project has a clear applied target with high potential for socio-economical impact and a high risk / high gain character.
Max ERC Funding
916 120 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31
