Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet KeepTimeWithTheHeat (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plants contain rhythmic molecular oscillators (termed circadian clocks) which allow them to anticipate predictable environmental conditions over the course of a day. These clocks control a large proportion of the genome and have a dramatic effect on how plants respond to the environment. To ensure that it remains faithful to day length, the clock must be entrained using external cues. We have known for nearly a century that temperature fluctuations entrain plant circadian rhythms. Remarkably however, we are yet to discover how this information is perceived by the clock. This proposal aims to discover how temperature sets the phase of the clock. Previous efforts have likely been hampered by the cross-talk between light and temperature signalling in plants. I have discovered that thermal entrainment of dark-grown seedlings enhances their survival during the critical dark to light transition and I will exploit this phenotype to identify the thermal entrainer. One of the most likely candidates is PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4). PIF4 is currently seen as an output of the clock and so these results may revolutionise our understanding of this relationship. I have designed a inter-disciplinary approach including molecular-genetic, computational and physiological experiments in order to test this hypothesis. As PIF4 is a central regulator of plant development, results from this project will have a far-reaching impact. The enhancement of seedling hardiness through thermal entrainment has potential commercial applications and I have laid out plans to explore these. The results will be communicated to both industrial and academic sectors and the wider public. Special attention has been paid to ensuring that this work will bolster the European Innovation Union through strengthening cross-European co-operation. The project has been designed to maximise my training opportunities and will make a significant contribution to my development as an independent researcher.

Mots clés : circadian rhythms, temperature signalling

Participants :
- Spanish National Research Council (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 158121.6 €
Projet ROMANCE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plants live in association with a plethora of microorganisms, which constitute the plant microbiome. The management of this microbiome, boosting the presence of functionally relevant bacterial taxa, will improve the plant growth and development and enhance the yields of crops, which turns of paramount importance for feeding a constantly increasing World population. The selection of a determinate agronomic practice is also very important in order to maximize crop productivity. In this sense, intercropping and crop rotation are two agronomic practices that are quite common within the European Union and also, all over the world. The crops used in these cropping systems are normally one legume, such as pea or clover, and one cereal, such as barley or maize. The rationale of using a legume in those cropping systems is to provide the soils and the subsequent crop with a N source. There are numerous studies about individual crops´ microbiota as well as about bacterial isolates able to promote plant growth and performance. Moreover, there are studies stating that bacterial strains are able to protect the plant from biotic and abiotic stresses. However, there is a lack of studies on the interaction between the different members of a microbiome within each plant and the different microbiomes of the plants included in a given cropping system. The main aim of this action is to determine the core microbiome and their associated functions that are common between the crops in each cropping system. This knowledge will allow to design an adapted biofertilizer based on a simplified native community, which will improve crop fitness and productivity, as well as protect against quarantine pathogens. This final goal will turn itself as an effective tool for managing cropping systems such as crop rotation and intercropping from a microbiological vision.

Mots clés : intercropping, crop rotation, mutualism, plant microbiota, omics

Participants :
- Universidad de Salamanca (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 160932.48 €
Projet PlantCellResponse (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plants respond to and must distinguish between beneficial and pathogenic bacteria (‘friend and foe’) surrounding them. Bacteria may manipulate the plant’s immune system to allow colonialization or can be resistant to plant defence responses such as the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites. It has been increasingly shown that plant responses occur in a cell type specific manner but single cell research has not yet been extensively explored in plant. Here, I propose to apply a state of the art in vivo protein proximity labelling technique to investigate responses to beneficial and pathogenic bacteria in the Arabidopsis thaliana root including the cell type specific level. The first objective of the proposed research is to determine if and to which extent there are differential plant responses to pathogenic and beneficial bacteria with Plant Growth Promoting effects (PGPB), which processes or specialized metabolites are involved in these responses and which regulatory proteins control these responses. This will be achieved through a multi-omics approach for which I will generate nuclear proteome data through protein proximity labelling, RNA-seq and metabolite data from A. thaliana seedlings exposed to a pathogen versus a PGPB. The second objective of this research will be to investigate the response regulation to a PGPB and a pathogen in specific root cell types by generating cell type specific nuclear proteome data. As the third objective I will determine the role of specific regulatory protein candidates from objectives 1 and 2 and their target cell type specific processes such as specialized metabolism or root development through individual gene by gene experiments. The proposed research will provide new insights into how plant responses to ‘friend or foe’ are regulated in different cell types. The generated datasets will be valuable for the community and provide a starting point for my own future independent research career.

Mots clés : plant sciences, plant environment interaction, pathogens, plant growth promoting bacteria  pgpb, jasmonate, specialized metabolism, transcriptional regulation, transcription factors, nuclear proteomi

Participants :
- Max Planck Society (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 162806.4 €
Projet PLASTICSCAN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Plastic debris is now a major source of anthropogenic pollution with >5 trillion fragments of micro-plastic in the world's oceans, and can lead to deleterious and often fatal consequences when ingested by seabirds and other marine animals, including hormonal disruption, chemical toxicity, or obstruction of digestive tract. In this action we propose to develop a standard method for characterisation of plastic fragments in the environment, using a combination of micro-CT scanning and FTIR, Raman spectroscopy to measure both physical parameters (size, shape, surface area) and chemical properties (primary polymers, additives, etc.) of individual fragments. We intend to apply the developed methodology to an existing collection of >10,000 plastic fragments extracted from living and dead seabirds over 10 years, and identify which properties of ingested plastics are associated with the greatest negative impact on seabird physiology and health outcomes. Analysis of preserved seabirds from spirit collections will provide historical context for the onset and rise of plastic contamination in seabirds over recent decades. The effect of environmental aging on plastics will be investigated by laboratory studies of several industrial polymers that comprise a major fraction of marine plastic pollution, identifying the spectroscopic signature of photo-chemical degradation under ambient marine conditions and in the acidic environment of seabird stomachs. With the increasingly ubiquitous presence of plastic debris in the environment, it is more important than ever that we understand the precise mechanisms by which that debris negatively impacts marine life so that we may mitigate those effects.


Participants :
- Natural History Museum (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet SCRAP (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Plastic is an emerging environmental contaminant that attracts social, political, and scientific attention. However, the effect mechanisms and ecological conditions that promote the consequences of plastic littering remain elusive because of the single-species approach in ecotoxicological testing. To make regulatory decisions mitigating the problem, the potential impacts and vulnerable habitats must be identified. In aquatic ecosystems, macrophyte beds are often a templet habitat providing foraging grounds for pelagic and benthic food webs. These systems are also at the forefront of plastic littering, with high fragmentation and accumulation of microplastic. I propose to conduct a systematic study to understand the multiple interactions between the key components in a coastal habitat exposed to plastic littering. Using the keystone macroalgae species in the Baltic, Fucus vesiculosus, this project aims to evaluate the microplastic effect mechanisms that are related to the species interactions in seaweed beds, with a microbiome being the key component mediating these interactions as well as microplastic retention in the system. I will also investigate the potential of the macrophyte habitat as an entrance point for microplastic in the food web, with particular focus on the primary consumers with different feeding modes. To evaluate the ecosystem health posed by microplastics, the project will also examine effects of microplastic and their leachates on plant physiology, including its growth and metabolite production. Finally, I will evaluate the effects of microplastic exposure on the macrophyte templet functions, including energy transfer efficiency and heat wave resilience. This framework will provide an understanding of the pathways, fate and effects of plastic debris in macrophyte system as well as an approach that applies to other anthropogenic contaminants released into the environment as particulates.

Mots clés : marine debris, plastic pollution, microplastic, macrophyte, macroalgae, seaweed, biofilm, bioinformatics, plant physiology

Participants :
- Stockholm University (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191852.16 €
Projet PGE-PLANETS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Platinum group element (PGE) abundances & 187Os-isotope compositions determined for magmas of Earth, the Moon, Mars, & asteroidal bodies place important constraints on planetary evolution but these data, & current analytical approaches, have largely focused on whole-rock analyses. Interpretations of planetary PGE fractionation & parent-body mantle reservoir compositions often appeal to knowledge of PGE fractionation reported for Earth’s magma compositions that may differ from other planetary melts. For these reasons significant uncertainty exists on the internal influences of planetary bulk-rock PGE compositions & inferred mantle reservoir characteristics. We propose to pioneer analytical techniques that will enable the first comprehensive study of mineral-scale PGE abundances & 186,187Os-isotope compositions in selected differentiated & primitive achondritic meteorites. This new quantitative mineral-scale information will enable rigorous & comprehensive assessment of the nature of planetary PGE fractionation(s), the degree of internal Os-isotopic equilibrium, & more precise knowledge of Osi values - thereby advancing understanding of molecular to planet-scale PGE characteristics with implications for theories concerning planetary & Solar System evolution. For the purposes of the proposed research the Fellow has secured access to the University of Alberta Meteorite Collection; >1100 planetary samples curated by one of Canada’s foremost meteoriticists (Prof. C.D.K. Herd). The researcher benefits from 4.5 years of postdoctoral experience where she advanced her expertise in PGE analytical chemistry in specialist laboratories at leading North American institutions. Her experience of handling precious meteorite materials & familiarity with laser-ablation protocols & micro-column chemistry are key assets to the proposed study to be conducted at the University of Durham, a European & global leader in PGE analyses.

Mots clés : mass spectrometry, platinum group elements, osmium isotopes, planetary evolution, core formation, late accretion

Participants :
- Durham University (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet HOPE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Mathematics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Polar varieties are central objects in algebraic geometry. Every subvariety in a projective space has an associated list of polar varieties, encoding its tangential properties. Their degrees determine codimension and degree of the dual variety. Moreover, under mild generality assumptions, the polar degrees sum up to the Euclidean distance degree. This quantity is the algebraic degree of the distance of the given variety to a generic point in projective space. It plays an important role in the context of variety learning and algebraic sampling. Recently it has been shown that the polar degrees of a projective variety coincide with the degrees of its coisotropic hypersurfaces. These hypersurfaces live inside Grassmannians and appear naturally in computer vision. Many of the above objects have been generalized to higher order analogues. Our goal is to extend this generalization to polar geometry to capture higher tangency properties of projective varieties. Projective duality has been expanded to higher order duality by allowing higher order contact, called osculation. Coisotropic hypersurfaces have been generalized to coisotropic varieties, which have arbitrary codimension in their ambient Grassmannian. We will introduce a new notion of higher order polar varieties to create the missing link between higher order duality and coisotropic varieties. We will also study higher order Euclidean distance degrees, describe our new concepts especially for toric varieties, and analyze their tropicalizations. This project is foundational research within algebraic geometry with a view towards computations and applications in computer vision and algebraic sampling. In addition to algebro-geometric methods (such as intersection theory or the study of resultants and discriminants) it requires techniques from a variety of other disciplines, such as combinatorics, convex geometry, statistics, computer vision, tropical geometry, and both symbolic and numerical computations.

Mots clés : polar variety, projective duality, osculating space, chern class, euclidean distance degree, coisotropic variety, grassmannian, toric embedding, tropicalization, computer vision, algebraic sampling

Participants :
- KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203852.16 €
Projet RPAAL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) is an evolutionarily conserved histone methyltransferase complex that catalyses trimethylation of lysine 27 of histone H3 (H3K27me3), which leads to epigenetic gene repression. In Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana), CURLY LEAF (CLF) and SWINGER (SWN) are two major H3K27 methyltransferases and core components of PRC2 in the sporophyte, playing essential roles in the regulation of plant development. However, the knowledge of how PRC2 participates in operational control in plants is scarce. Recently, altered phenotypes of PRC2-depletion mutants grown under different light intensities were observed. Hence, here I raise the hypothesis that PRC2 acts in fully differentiated cells to modulate the ambient light acclimation. At first, short- and long-term light acclimation responses that require PRC2 activity will be identified, employing plant morphology and physiology tools. Next, PRC2-governed molecular mechanisms and PRC2-modulated light signaling pathway in the light acclimation will be established. Molecular tools (RNA-seq and ChIP-seq) will be used to profile transcriptome and H3K27me3 distribution to establish the patterns of epigenome and transcriptome alteration in WT and mutants. At last, the focus will expand to select other chromatin modification mutants displaying altered light acclimation responses. In summary, for the first time, dynamics of PRC2 repression in fully differentiated cells in response to light acclimation will be determined and it will lay a solid foundation for studying other chromatin modifiers in future. The project builds on combining my experience in plant physiology and ecology and gaining research experience in the field of developmental epigenetics. The fellowship proposal is designed in a way to enhance my independent thinking capacity, organizational and management skills and responsibilities, which are necessary to become an excellent and independent researcher and group leader in the future.

Mots clés : histone post translational modification, polycomb repressive complex 2, light acclimation, photosynthesis

Participants :
- Czech Academy of Sciences (Rép. Tchèque) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 144980.64 €
Projet DN-CARTILOGEL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Polymer materials have outstanding properties with which to be applied for a wide range of applications. In particular, hydrogel materials are widely studied for applications in tissue engineering on account of their high water contents. Despite the advances in these materials, some biomedical targets remain challenging. Articular cartilage (AC) is the white flexible load-bearing soft tissue able to withstand the highest loads in physically demanding areas of the body. Once it is damaged, its poor ability for self-repair may induce a progressive loss of function that, ultimately, results in a severe musculoskeletal degenerative condition. While most commonly used hydrogel fabrication techniques still have practical limitations or do not lead to materials that are sufficiently strong for AC regeneration, the DN-Cartilogel project proposes the preparation of innovative tough, double network hydrogel materials that are based on advanced hydrophilic poly(carbonate)s. The tailored design of polymers with specific side-chain and end group functionalities will lead to hydrogel materials with improved mechanical strength, toughness and high water content. To this end, the project will apply the one-step synthetic methodology based on orthogonal click chemistry that was reported recently by the host group to generate novel and highly tunable materials. The ultimate goal is to develop a straightforward path to design robust DN hydrogels able to induce the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into specialized cartilage-producing cells, which directly addresses priorities established by the H2020 Work Programme.

Mots clés : injectable hydrogels, cell encapsulation, regenerative medicine

Participants :
- University of Warwick (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 142432.02 €
- University of Birmingham (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 41022.78 €
Projet TissueMaps (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Population in developed countries is aging. Besides other socioeconomic effects, this significantly affects European health systems, as ageing-specific therapies and treatments have become important cost factors. In this context, hip replacements belong to one of the most frequent and costly treatments. Recent reports on mass failures of new types of hip prosthesis revealed insufficient understanding of physiological processes leading to prosthesis failure. Studies on hip prosthesis failures revealed complex processes leading to chemical degradation of implants, resulting in desorbed elements and ions entering the surrounding tissue, causing inflammation and loosening of hip prosthesis. The research needed to reveal important details of the body response to the implant is lacking of the incorporation of novel techniques and approaches. Techniques currently applied in hospitals, such as X-ray scans and optical tissue microscopies do not fully explain the effects of implants on the body physiology. Moreover, the screening of new types of implants before its introduction into clinic processes may lack of scientific understanding of possible destructive effects. Modern tissue microscopy techniques are promising providing elemental and chemical distribution of a tissue, with high sensitivities and lateral resolution. Micro Proton Induced X-ray Emission (microPIXE) allows determining the quantitative elemental mapping of a tissue and has been proved to be the best technique for element localization studies in biological tissues due to its capability of analysing at sub-cellular level the distribution of elements incorporated to biological tissue, due to a high sensitivity ranging down to 0.1 ppm level. The action will focus on investigating reasons of failures and rejections of hip replacements by application of advanced elemental microscopies to human tissue surrounding hip failures. Results may determine the origin of failure and avoid prosthesis rejection.

Mots clés : medical imaging physics, nuclear microprobes, biocompatible prosthesis, biomedical engineering

Participants :
- Jožef Stefan Institute (Slovénie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 157287.6 €