Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet EXPHYLL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Phyllostictine A (PA) is the most potent member of a new class of natural product isolated from the fungus phyllosticta cirsii that displays strong herbicidal activity and is an exciting new lead in crop protection. Martin Riemer (PhD 2014, University of Potsdam, Germany) will undertake the first chemical synthesis of phyllostictine A (PA) at the University of Warwick, UK and participate in a multi-disciplinary project that spans the interface between chemistry and biology. PA constitutes a formidable synthetic challenge and its synthesis will require him to develop a variety of new chemical reactions and processes. Emphasis will be placed on sustainable, catalytic transformations and on adhering to the principles of the ‘ideal’ synthesis (e.g. atom, step and redox economy), work which builds directly on the applicant’s skills and expertise. Through a secondment to Rothamsted Research, Riemer will broaden his knowledge base by testing a selection of synthetic analogues against invasive weeds. Taken together, these activities will advance our understanding of the mode of action of PA, and pave the way for the development of simplified analogues for use in agriculture. Moreover, through the planned training and mentoring activities, Riemer will develop into an outstanding early career researcher of great potential.

Mots clés : sustainable chemical synthesis, catalysis, herbicides, crop protection, phyllostictine a

Participants :
- University of Warwick (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet Eco-PhyloGeo (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Phylogeography is one of the most integrative disciplines within biology, involving genetics, ecology, geospatial analyses, climatology and computer science. Despite its potential to unravel the determinants that shape biodiversity and to predict the effects of global changes on organisms, phylogeography has not yet been projected onto a unified ecological and evolutionary framework, mainly because most studies rely only on restricted subsets of species without revealing patterns at community levels. The Eco-PhyloGeo project aims to fill this gap for the West Mediterranean butterflies by creating and correlating two datasets: i) a high-resolution assessment of the genetic diversity for the mitochondrial gene COI of all the butterfly species occurring in this area, and ii) a dataset for the main ecological traits of all European butterflies. A substantial amount of the data are already available to the ER and the supervisor, and the datasets will be completed by training-through-research. In addition, the creation of new phylogeographic indexes will allow the partitioning of species genetic structure over space in nestedness and turnover components. The project has two ambitious yet feasible objectives: 1) Complete and freely release the DNA and the species traits datasets together with a R package to allow a wide use of these resources in biogeography, ecology and taxonomy. 2) Provide for the first time a mathematical background to link species phylogeography with ecological traits for an entire and large animal taxon. Given the novelty of the analyses and the unprecedented geographic resolution and taxonomic completeness of the datasets (around 12,000 sequences and about 20 ecological traits for 450 butterfly species), the Eco-PhyloGeo is expected to have a great impact on the scientific community represent a key step towards drawing out general rules in phylogeography and ultimately determining biodiversity patterns.

Mots clés : butterflies, ecological traits, phylogeography, west mediterranean

Participants :
- Spanish National Research Council (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 170121.6 €
Projet HAHPEC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Physical comfort and emotional well-being are common expectations and aspirations across 21st-century Europe. This fellowship explores an important episode in the historical development of these cultural and social norms. The 18th century was a time when the wealthy, at least, had access to a growing range of goods, commodities and technologies, and were becoming increasingly aware of their individual identity. The research focuses on the changing relationship between physical and emotional comfort in the context of the country house, and explores a number of key questions about how the desire for comfort related to gender and life course, and to material objects and the growing specialisation of domestic spaces; how it was perceived through different senses and how it was juxtaposed with feelings of discomfort; and how it was conceived and experienced in two contrasting countries within Europe – places with very different societies, economies and climates. The research draws on a wide range of archival sources and material objects, and engages with a variety of social and cultural theories and research methodologies: textual, statistical and artefactual. It is characterised by strong engagement with the heritage sector, through the provision of new interpretive frameworks and materials for selected historic houses, and with the public, who are invited to become actively involved as project associates and contribute to the analysis of objects and archives. Successfully completing of the project will involve knowledge transfer between the researcher and host institution, and will significantly develop the researcher’s career. It will produce a range of tangible outcomes, including academic publications, open access publications on dedicated web-pages, and public workshops and exhibitions, and will build sustainable networks of academics and professionals, thus enriching and integrating the ERA.

Mots clés : comfort, gender, consumption, well being, material culture, country house, elite, social relations

Participants :
- Manchester Metropolitan University (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet PhytoENM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Phytonanotechnology (use of Engineered Nanomaterial, ENMs, in agriculture) supports the controlled release of agrochemicals (e.g., fertilizers, pesticides) and target-specific delivery of biomolecules (e.g., nucleotides, proteins, and activators) for increased disease resistance, nutrient utilization, and crop yield. Along with the groundbreaking potential of such techniques, one should be careful about their trophic transfer to plants. This topic has been rarely studied, compared to the toxic effect of ENMs in human systems. However, assessment of ENM toxicity to plant cells is critical to the implementation of nanotechnology in agriculture and support of global sustainability and the EC's European Green Deal. The proposed project addresses potential key cellular processes involved in the delivery of ENMs to plants and the safe use and social acceptance of phytonanotechnology, assessing potential adverse effects, including the risks associated with the transfer of ENMs through the food chain. To do so, novel analytical techniques are essential that could study metal-based ENMs and their distribution within individual cells. The development of Single Particle ICP-MS (SP-ICP-MS) is a new area of research which allows rapid detection and analysis of ENMs in a variety of matrices and applications, as it allows discrete pulses of positively charged ions to be detected and measured in a time resolved manner using microsecond data acquisition rates. PhytoENM will go beyond, applying the concept of Single Cell ICP-MS (SC-ICP-MS), where individual cells are rapidly analyzed for their particulate & ionic content, something that has not been done before in plants. The project will also use novel stable-isotope labelling techniques pioneered by the applicant team. This would allow the understanding of the interaction of metal-based ENMs in single cells spatially, and the related mechanistic pathways, leading to information on their distribution and potential toxicity.

Mots clés : phytonanotechnology, engineered nanomaterials, nanosafety, plant single cells, single particle inductively, coupled plasma mass spectrometry, single cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Participants :
- University of Birmingham (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet CHECKMATE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Pietro Mascheroni received his training in applied mathematics and mechanics in Italy and has carried out his research in the United States and in Germany. His work lies at the interface between applied mathematics and biology and has been published in prominent journals of the field. He is requesting funding for two years to work with Giovanni Cappello and join his group at LIPhy Grenoble, France. The scientific aim of the project is to improve the understanding of macrophage response to external cues, with the final goal of drawing new insights into the mechanisms of action of immunotherapies. The action will investigate the influence of chemical and mechanical signals on macrophage migration, analyzing their respective importance in determining cell behavior. Taking advantage of the host laboratory’s expertise and facilities, dynamic light scattering will be employed to monitor macrophage migration in 3D scaffolds and tumor aggregates. Macrophages will be stimulated by using different growth factors and chemokines, under variable oxygen and glucose culturing conditions. Mechanical stress will be applied using microfluidic tools and exploiting the osmotic action of Dextran on the extracellular matrix. Relying on the applicant’s expertise, theoretical models based on the active gel theory will be developed to assist the understanding of experimental results. Throughout the project the medical implications of the research will be considered, by taking advantage of collaborations with clinicians of partner institutions. The training program of the action is exhaustive and will allow the researcher to grow as a world-class leader in this field, which is fundamental in healthcare for the benefit of society. He will develop a unique blend of knowledge and expertise, allowing him to communicate and work with applied mathematicians, biomedical scientists and clinicians in industry, health services and academia.

Mots clés : dynamic light scattering, cell migration, chemical and mechanical stimuli, mechanical compression

Participants :
- Université Grenoble Alpes (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 196707.84 €
Projet InterAcTEV (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plant (+)strand RNA viruses account for important losses in crop yields worldwide. They complete complex infectious cycles by replicating, moving and inactivating plant defense mechanisms through multiple interactions of their RNA or proteins with host factors. Plants have evolved two main antiviral immunity systems operated by ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins that target viral RNAs in the RNA silencing pathway or by resistance proteins that recognize viral-encoded proteins through protein-protein interactions. However, neither the identification of AGO target sites in viral RNAs nor the elucidation of the entire repertoire of proteins interacting with viral proteins has been reported for any plant virus. Now, the recent development of new technologies (and associated tools) such as high-throughput DNA sequencing and high performance mass spectrometry (MS) platforms makes possible to address these questions at a genome-wide level. InterAcTEV will combine these new technologies to study the recently described Arabidopsis/Tobacco etch virus (TEV)-TAMPS pathosystem with a multidisciplinary approach aimed to identify AGO target sites in TEV RNAs and to generate the first complete protein-protein interactome map for a plant virus. First, RNA-immunoprecipitation coupled with high-throughput sequencing methods will be optimized to identify AGO target sites in TEV RNAs at a genome-wide level. Second, we will combine novel high-affinity purification methods with MS analyses to identify the specific pool of Arabidopsis proteins interacting with each TEV protein. InterAcTEV will generate key knowledge to open new avenues for the understanding of resistance mechanisms in plants and to develop novel antiviral strategies for crop protection and securement of world’s food supply. Finally, the funding of InterAcTEV will allow the Experienced Researcher to initiate his own research project in the host laboratory and facilitate his transition to an independent research position in Europe.

Mots clés : plant virus interaction, arabidopsis, tobacco etch virus, argonaute, small rna, rna silencing, high throughput sequencing, mass spectrometry, immunoprecipitation, rip seq

Participants :
- Spanish National Research Council (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 170121.6 €
Projet PERFECTION (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plant cells tightly regulate gene transcription in response to a changing environment. Stresses, such as pathogen encounters, lead to dramatic transcriptional reprogramming to favor defence activation over basal cellular functions. For effective defence, cells must rapidly alter defence gene mRNA abundance. How extracellular and intracellular recognition of plant pathogens trigger appropriate changes in host mRNA abundance is poorly understood. Upon recognition of pathogen effectors, resistance proteins activate plant defence by unknown mechanisms. My host lab recently reported that the Arabidopsis Resistance gene pair RPS4/RRS1-R elevates expression of certain defence genes, such as those required for salicylic acid biosynthesis, within four hours of detecting PopP2 effector in Arabidopsis. The main goal of this proposal is to understand how effector recognition by RPS4/RRS1-R leads to rapid defence gene induction. We will test the hypothesis that RPS4/RRS1-R proteins directly interact with gene loci that are activated during this process. I will use transgenic Arabidopsis that carry a single genome locus with independently epitope-tagged RPS4, RRS1 and other defence-implicated proteins to investigate: (1) changes in composition of the RPS4/RRS1-R protein complex upon effector recognition using mass spectrometry; (2) effector-induced changes in association of the RPS4/RRS1-R proteins with induced genes using chromatin immunoprecipitation; (3) changes in chromatin status at induced gene regions correlated with gene induction and activation of defence by RPS4/RRS1-R. From this project, I will rigorously test an important model, namely that plant immune receptor complexes directly mediate transcriptional reprogramming of defence genes through chromatin changes upon recognition of effectors. I bring highly complementary expertise in genetics and transcriptional regulation of basal defence from China to Canada and now to TSL that is essential for this project’s success.

Mots clés : nb lrr resistance proteins, effector triggered immunity, co transcriptional regulation, defence genes, sustainable crops

Participants :
- Sainsbury Laboratory (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet AS-CELLEXPAND (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plant growth and morphogenic changes in response to developmental and environmental cues depend on the capacity of cells to expand correctly, which requires structural remodeling of cell walls. Importantly, abiotic stress markedly impacts plant growth by affecting many aspects related to the cell wall, from its composition to the expression of biosynthetic and remodeling genes. The importance of transcriptional regulation of genes controlling cell wall biosynthesis and architecture in response to environmental cues is well studied, but little is known about posttranscriptional mechanisms that affect their function. SR (serine/arginine-rich) proteins are major regulators of alternative splicing (AS), which generates multiple transcripts from the same gene and may modulate plant stress responses. Given evidence that (i) abiotic stress affects SR protein function; (ii) mutations in SR genes cause abnormal plant growth; and (iii) SR45 directly binds mRNAs encoding cell wall regulators, this project will investigate a role for SR-mediated regulation of AS events in cell wall regulators during plant development and abiotic stress responses. Specific objectives are to: (i) identify AS events in cell wall regulator genes that may impact plant growth; (ii) study their regulation by SR proteins; and (iii) assess whether they determine normal plant growth under environmental stress.

Mots clés : cell expansion, plant growth, alternative splicing, post transcriptional regulation, abiotic stress

Participants :
- Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Portugal) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 148635.6 €
Projet POSTCAMB (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Plant species forming storage organs like bulbs, tubers, or tuberous roots are cultivated as staple food and feed crops because of their high starch caloric content, and elevated yields per hectare. These organs can differentiate from the petioles, stems or the roots, in a secondary growth program whose control is little understood. Tubers and bulbs serve as propagation organs to the plant and remain dormant in soil during winter, to be reactivated the following spring and generate a new plant that is genetically identical to the mother plant. Plants sense short days and cool nights as an indicator of the approaching winter. In potato, these external cues activate expression of a member of the FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) gene family acting as a main tuberigen signal, on be transported to the underground stolons. In this proposal I aim at characterizing the genes acting downstream of FT, and to identify the cells that respond to this mobile signal, thereby serving as tuber initials. As storage organs can initiate from different tissues, my working hypothesis is that this secondary growth process relies on the cambium meristem, which is induced to divide and differentiate into storage parenchyma instead of its default pathway to xylem vessels. Outcomes of this work will not only contribute to a better comprehension of cambium function, but unveil key regulators for storage organ identity which will imply a major breakthrough in our understanding on how these highly economical relevant plant organs are differentiated.

Mots clés : plant developmental biology, potato tuber development, plant cambium differentiation, secondary growth, proteomics, transcriptomics

Participants :
- CERCA Institution (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 172932.48 €
Projet InteCue (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plants are often exposed to infestation by insect herbivores. How do they defend themselves to grow and reproduce? We know that plants can perceive volatile cues, emitted by insect infested neighboring plants, to generate faster and stronger defense responses upon subsequent herbivory. Plants can also sense peptide signals, induced by herbivory, to fight against herbivores. However, we know close to nothing about whether plants can integrate volatile cues and peptide signals for enhanced herbivore resistance. In InteCue, I will determine the capacity of tomato plants to integrate herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) and the peptide systemin for enhanced defense responses against herbivores. I will also assess the direct impact of HIPVs on systemin signaling. Finally, I will explore the role of the systemin receptor SYR1 as a hub for HIPVs-systemin signal integration and regulation. As such, I aim to unravel the molecular mechanisms underpinning volatile and plant peptide signal integration and regulation in the context of plant-herbivore interactions. By combining my knowledge of peptide signaling, the expertise of chemical ecology and the unique platform for high throughput volatile profiling from the host lab, InteCue will advance our understanding of signal integration in plant-herbivore interactions. Ultimately, the new knowledge gained will lay the foundation of breeding pest resistant crops for sustainable agriculture.

Mots clés : plant herbivore interactions, herbivore induced plant volatiles, systemin, plant immunity, signal integration

Participants :
- University of Bern (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191149.44 €
Projet CRoSh (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plants are sessile photosynthetic organisms, which adapt their growth and development according to their light environment. The reduction in red/far-red ratio (low R/FR), caused by absorption of red light and reflection of far-red radiation by canopy leaves, signals the proximity of neighboring plants and triggers the shade avoidance syndrome (SAS). The SAS consists in large changes in plant body form, in particular rapid elongation of selected organs providing enhanced access to sunlight. Shade-induced elongation is triggered by a rapid and transient burst in the production of the phyto-hormone auxin (IAA). However, elongation growth persists way beyond the initial increase in IAA levels and it is currently not understood how this initial signal leads to long-term growth. This project aims to identify epigenetic reprogramming events caused by reduction in R/FR and the pulse of IAA production, to allow a rapid and persistent growth response in Arabidopsis thaliana. The chromatin state of shade-grown seedlings will be analyzed by combining two novel approaches: INTACT nuclei purification and ATAC-sequencing providing information about chromatin accessibility. This data will be integrated with genome-wide expression and transcription factor binding sites enabling us to relate transcription factor binding, chromatin state and gene expression. The relevance of shade-induced changes in chromatin modification will be tested functionally by mutational analyses. This project will provide important information about the regulation of gene expression by changes in the environment and how these are mediated by hormonal cues and light-regulated chromatin organization. More broadly, understanding the response to shade has an agricultural relevance. Crops grown at high density display the SAS leading to the reallocation of resources towards fast growing stems and causing a reduction in biomass of storage organs that are important for agricultural yield.

Mots clés : arabidopsis thaliana, shade avoidance response, chromatin organization, gene expression, light, signaling, atac sequencing, histone modification

Participants :
- University of Lausanne (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175419.6 €