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The chemical understanding of biomolecular recognition in epigenetics

Objective

The ultimate aim of this ERC project is to provide a comprehensive and complete understanding, at the atomic-level of sophistication, of genuinely important biomolecular recognition processes in epigenetics that play key roles in human health and disease. At the biochemical level, epigenetics refers to mechanisms, such as enzymatic modifications of DNA and posttranslational modifications of the associated histone proteins, that regulate the activity of human genes. The proposed work aims to address epigenetics using the physical-organic chemistry approach that enables the elucidation of the elemental processes with unprecedented molecular/atomic detail. The project will experimentally and computationally examine non-covalent interactions between three essential constituents of the epigenetic biomolecular system, namely epigenetic proteins, histones and water, at the level of short histone peptides, intact histone proteins, the nucleosome assembly and nucleosome arrays. Our programme, built on synergistic thermodynamic, structural and computational studies, aims to unravel i) the underlying chemical origin of methyllysine-containing histones in epigenetics, ii) the chemical basis for the recognition of methylarginine-containing histones in epigenetic processes, and iii) the role of unstructured histone tails in biomolecular recognition, which together form the three main structural elements found in the epigenetic framework. Results from this work will be important from both a fundamental molecular perspective as well as from the biomedical perspective, because proteins involved in epigenetic regulation processes are currently regarded as important targets for numerous therapeutic interventions, most notably for cancer treatment.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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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.

ERC-STG - Starting Grant

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2016-STG

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Host institution

SYDDANSK UNIVERSITET
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 266 890,00
Address
CAMPUSVEJ 55
5230 Odense M
Denmark

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Region
Danmark Syddanmark Fyn
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

€ 1 266 890,00

Beneficiaries (2)

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