Projet WATER (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Doctoral Networks
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Water is essential to life. 70% of the water in cells belongs to the hydration shells of proteins, lipid membranes or occupies protein cavities - so-called interfacial water. The difference in structure between interfacial water and bulk water gives rise to a key force in molecular biology: hydrophobic attraction. We do not fully understand how exactly this force contributes to protein folding, stability, structure, function, dynamics or membrane fusion. WATER aims to train 16 PhD students to unravel the multiple roles of interfacial water in biological membranes. They will characterise water mobility and ordering inside membrane receptors, carrier proteins and channels, adjacent to their ligands and lipid bilayers, and in the reaction centres of membrane-bound enzymes, using a broad methodological spectrum including cryo-electron microscopy, simulations, light-spectroscopy and imaging. To assess the functional consequences of water confinement, they will analyze facilitated water and solute transport, chemical reactions inside proteins, ligand-protein interactions, the intraprotein H-bond network, and membrane fusion events, exploiting, e.g., electrophysiology and synthetic chemistry. The results will pave the way for the development of personalised, targeted therapies and more effective drugs and vaccines through improved binding and delivery. Biotechnological applications include artificial channels in biomimetic applications. WATER will bring together world-class theoreticians, experimentalists and computational scientists to provide multidisciplinary training in biophysics, molecular biology, medicinal and organic chemistry, structural and synthetic biology, advanced microscopy and computer science. Besides scientific excellence, WATER offers a cross-sectoral approach, involving industry from start-ups to large pharmaceutical companies, and soft skills training enhancing DC’s abilities to translate scientific discoveries and improve their employability.

Mots clés : membrane transporter, mitochondrial carrier, translocon, fluorescence spectroscopy, ab initio simulations, second harmonic imaging, molecular dynamics, confined water, hydrolysis, macrocyclic peptide

Participants :
- Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany) (Allemagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 290272.32 €
- Chrometra scientific bv (Belgique) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (Suisse) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Oryl photonics sa (Suisse) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 314669.16 €
- Abx advanced biochemical compounds- biomedizinische forschungsreagenzien gmbh (Allemagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 290272.32 €
- Czech Acad Sci J Heyrovský Inst Phys Chem (Rép. Tchèque) — Partner, beneficiary, Autres, subvention : 280022.76 €
- Picoquant gmbh (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Université technique de Rhénanie-Westphalie à Aix-la-Chapelle (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université Christian Albrecht de Kiel (Allemagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 290272.32 €
- University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (Autriche) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 302542.92 €
- Université de la Sarre (Allemagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 290272.32 €
- Keysight Technologies (Austria) (Autriche) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Université Charles de Prague (Rép. Tchèque) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Montpellier Paul-Valéry (France) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Elements srl (Italie) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (Allemagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 290272.32 €
- Université de Linz (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 605085.84 €
- Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgique) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 288540.0 €
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 288540.0 €
- Université de Bucarest (Roumanie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 246242.52 €