Objective
In the European Union, 25,000 deaths per year are caused by multidrug resistant bacteria. This trend is predicted to increase with ever increasing misuse and overuse of antibiotics, which accelerates the evolution of antibiotic resistance (AR). An important mechanism of transferring antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) among bacteria are temperate bacteriophages (prophages), viruses that can incorporate their own genetic material into the bacterial chromosome, thereby providing their bacterial host (which is now called a ‘lysogen’) with additional genes, such as ARGs. Despite their vast abundance in nature, our understanding of the evolution of ARG-carrying prophages is still incomplete. Therefore I will study the evolution of ARG-carrying prophages and their host bacteria. Specifically, using constructed lysogens (carrying prophage lambda+ARG) of E. coli bacteria, I will (1) use competitive fitness assays to determine the costs/benefits for bacteria of carrying prophages that encode AR and how these costs depend on environmental antibiotic concentrations and the frequency with which the prophage enters the lytic cycle (i.e. the prophage becomes active, replicates and lyses the host cell). (2) I will follow the evolution of these lysogens that carry AR-encoding prophages using a serial transfer experiment in the presence/absence of antibiotics and compounds that induce phage lysis. (3) I will sequence the evolved lysogens including their prophage genomes to detect underlying genomic changes associated with bacterial adaptation to prophage carriage. I predict that the net effect of a prophage that encodes an ARG on the growth and evolution of its host bacterium will strongly depend on both the frequency with which the phage enters the lytic cycle and the costs/benefits of the ARG. By using a novel approach that has been neglected so far (evolution of ARG-carrying prophages) this project will improve our understanding of AR evolution.
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 biological sciences microbiology virology
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics chromosomes
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance antibiotic resistance
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017
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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.
8092 Zuerich
Switzerland
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.