Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : Ca2Coral (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Entité participante : University of Haifa — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499741.0 €

Although various aspects of biomineralisation in corals have been studied for decades, the basic mechanism of precipitation of the aragonite skeleton remains enigmatic. Two parallel lines of inquiry have emerged: geochemist models of calcification that are directly related to seawater carbonate chemistry at thermodynamic equilibrium. Here, the role of the organisms in the precipitation reaction is largely ignored. The second line is based on biological considerations of the biomineralisation process, which focuses on models of biophysical processes far from thermodynamic equilibrium that concentrate calcium ions, anions and proteins responsible for nucleation in specific compartments. Recently, I identified and cloned a group of highly acidic proteins derived the common stony coral, Stylophora pistillata. All of the cloned proteins precipitate aragonite in seawater at pH 8.2 and 7.6 in-vitro. However, it is not at all clear if the expression of these proteins in-vivo is sufficient for the formation of an aragonite skeleton at seawater pH values below ~7.8. Here using a combination of molecular, biophysical, genomic, and cell biological approaches, we proposed to test the core hypothesis that, unless wounded or otherwise having skeletal material exposed directly to seawater, stony zooxanthellate corals will continue to calcify at pH values projected for the CO2 emissions scenarios for 2100. Specifically, the objectives of Ca2Coral are to: 1) Use functional genomics to identify the key genes and proteins involved both in the organic matrix and skeleton formation in the adult holobiont and during its larval development. 2) Use a genetics approach to elucidate the roles of specific proteins in the biomineralisation process. 3) Use ultra-high resolution imaging and spectroscopic analysis at different pH levels to elucidate the biomineralisation pathways and mineral precursor in corals in the adult holobiont and during its larval development.

Mots-clés : acidic proteins,biomineralisation,corals,amorphous calcium carbonate,mineral formation,coral development,biomineralisation pathways,cryo sem
Projet ERC : SleepSynapses (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : VIB
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1706250.0 €

Although we spend a third of our lives sleeping, the function of sleep remains mysterious. Studies considering neural networks, brain regions and behavior suggest the intriguing hypothesis that sleep is important for synaptic plasticity. However, as prior studies have conducted analyses using broad brain regions or circuit networks, the precise role of sleep in synaptic plasticity remains intensely debated. Progress in this area is hindered by the lack of a genetically-tractable system of sleep-dependent synaptic plasticity. To solve this, I developed a unique fruit fly model. It is the first model of its kind in which the cellular players comprising the synapses can be genetically labelled and manipulated. I will use this model to address a long-running controversy in the field--which form(s) of synaptic plasticity is promoted by sleep--by directly monitoring the effects of sleep on precisely identified synapses at electrophysiological and ultrastructural levels. Then, I will investigate the mechanisms underlying this process by analyzing the effects of sleep on every cellular component (pre and postsynaptic neurons and perisynaptic astrocytes) in this model at molecular and cellular levels. Emerging data suggest that astrocytes play a key role in synaptic plasticity and have further implicated these cells in regulating sleep. However, it has been difficult to directly examine the role of astrocytes in sleep-dependent synaptic plasticity, since no methodology currently exists for reproducibly manipulating local astrocytes enveloping the synapse of interest. For this, I will implement a unique tool, named G-CLAMP, and use it to assess potential glial mechanisms underlying sleep-dependent plasticity. Considered as a whole, my project will produce unique and comprehensive understanding of the role of sleep in synaptic plasticity, an essential question if we aim to understand sleep, and move us towards explaining the evolutionarily origins of this mysterious behavior.
Projet ERC : AEDNA (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Synthetic Chemistry and Materials
Entité participante : Technical University of Munich — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TUM
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2157697.5 €

Amorphous and evolutionary DNA nanotechnology (AEDNA) explores novel conceptual directions and applications for DNA nanotechnology, which are based on intelligent, DNA-programmed soft hybrid materials, and the utilization of evolutionary principles for the optimization of nucleic acid nanocomponents. Amorphous DNA nanotechnology first aims at the creation of cell-sized, DNA-programmed microgels – DNA cells – with sensor, computation, communication, and actuator functions. Interacting DNA cells will be arranged into chemical cell consortia and artificial tissues using microfluidics, micromanipulation and 3D bioprinting techniques. Spatially distributed chemical circuits will then be utilized to establish collective behaviors such as quorum sensing, pattern formation, and self-differentiation within these consortia and tissues. The approach will be further scaled up to produce multicomponent DNA gel compositions that become active and differentiate upon mixing. In evolutionary nanotechnology, techniques derived from directed molecular evolution experiments will be applied to optimize the arrangement of functional nucleic acids on DNA and RNA nanoscaffolds. Compartmentalization and microfluidics will be utilized to screen for nucleic acid nanostructures capable of superstructure formation, and also for the development of ligand-sensitive components for molecular programming. An evolutionary approach will then be applied to amorphous DNA cells, resulting in DNA cell populations which contain individuals with different molecular identities. The proposal will pave the way for the creation of macroscopic materials with DNA-programmed intelligence, resulting in novel applications for DNA nanotechnology and molecular programming in diverse fields such as environmental and biological sensing, biocatalysis, smart adaptive materials, and soft robotics.
Projet ERC : CorticALS (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Inserm
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is the most common adult-onset neurodegenerative disease of the motor system, with a prevalence of 2-3/100 000. In spite of intensive research efforts, ALS remains an incurable disease and presents with a very severe prognosis, leading to patient death within 2 to 5 years following diagnosis. At the cellular level, ALS is characterized by the combined degeneration of both upper motor neurons (UMN, or corticospinal motor neurons) whose cell bodies are located in the cerebral cortex, and that extend axons to the medulla and spinal cord, and lower motor neurons (LMN, or spinal motor neurons) whose cell bodies are located in the medulla and spinal cord, and that connect to the skeletal muscles. This dual impairment allows to discriminate ALS from other, less severe diseases affecting either UMN or LMN. Despite this precise clinical description, it is striking to note that preclinical studies have so far mostly concentrated on LMN, leaving aside the role of UMN in ALS. This project aims at shedding light on the contribution of the dysfunction and/or the loss of UMN in ALS, in order to design and test new therapeutic strategies based on the protection and/or the replacement of this exact neuronal type. This innovative question has never been directly asked so far. Our working hypothesis is that specific neurodegeneration of UMN, in the course of ALS, does not represent an isolated side effect, but rather actively contributes to the onset and progression of the disease. Based on the discovery of new molecular players, and the development of alternative therapies, this original thematic has the ambition to provide clinicians and patients with new answers and new therapeutic assets.

Mots-clés : amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,cortico spinal motorneurons,cell intrinsic and cell extrinsic mechanisms,endogenous neural stem cells programming,gene delivery,regenerative therapy
Projet ERC : Timtrace (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Wageningen University & Research — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : WUR
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 148387.0 €

An estimated 50% of the tropical timber that enters the European market is illegally harvested. To implement new European legislation intended to eliminate this illegal trade, independent tools will be needed to verify the legal status of timber. We therefore propose to develop a fast, accurate and cost-effective commercial forensic tool, 'Timtrace', for tracing the claimed origin of tropical timber. Timtrace uses (1) ring-width measurements that can be matched with reference measurements or climate data, (2) stable isotopes in the wood that can be matched with regional reference data, and (3) DNA analyses that allow distinguishing timber obtained from different areas. The application of multiple methods greatly expands the number of tropical timbers whose origin can be traced. Our forensic approach is competitive, as unlike current commercial alternatives, it does not require access to the timber in the country of harvest. Potential customers of Timtrace include the customs and inspection authorities, the timber-processing industry and organisations that certify sustainable forest management. Several of these stakeholders have already shown interest in a commercially available and cost-effective forensic tool for timber tracing. Timtrace builds on the results and expertise obtained during the ERC-funded TROFOCLIM project in which we assembled databases with many thousands measurements of tree-rings and stable isotopes for 20 tropical timber varieties from three continents. Results of the TROFOCLIM project will be directly applied for tracing tropical timbers and will also serve as reference data. We will use the ERC Proof of Concept Grant to (1) develop a fast, accurate and cost-effective tool for forensic tracing of tropical timber and (2) evaluate its commercial feasibility. By the end of the PoC project we aim to have a Minimum Viable Product which will satisfy the demands of the first customers.

Mots-clés : illegal logging,tropical timber,eu timber regulation,forensic studies
Projet ERC : C9ND (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : University of London — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : U. London
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1985699.0 €

An expanded GGGGCC repeat in a non-coding region of the C9orf72 gene is the most common known cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The repeat RNA is transcribed and accumulates in neuronal RNA aggregates, implicating RNA toxicity as a key pathogenic mechanism. However, the pathways that lead to neurodegeneration are unknown. My lab has made pioneering contributions to the understanding of C9orf72 FTD/ALS, and reported the first structure of the repeat RNA, and the first description of both sense and antisense RNA aggregates in patient brain. We have now developed new disease models that allow, for the first time, the dissection of RNA toxicity both in vivo and in sophisticated neuronal culture models. We have also used our knowledge of the repeat structure to identify novel small molecules that show very strong binding to the repeats. We will utilise our innovative disease models in a multidisciplinary approach to fully dissect the cellular pathways underlying C9orf72 repeat RNA toxicity in vivo, on a genome-wide scale. Altered RNA metabolism has been implicated in a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases, indicating that our findings will provide profound new insight into fundamental mechanisms of neuronal maintenance and survival. This research programme will also deliver a step change in our understanding of C9orf72 FTD/ALS pathogenesis and provide essential insight for the identification of small molecules with genuine therapeutic potential. RNA-mediated mechanisms are now known to be a common theme in neurodegeneration, suggesting these findings will have broad significance.
Projet ERC : SYNTOMAGX (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering
Entité participante : University of Bayreuth — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2291875.0 €

An immensely valuable asset to the field of synthetic biology would be a means to genetically endow magnetism to living organisms, which is still an unsolved challenge due to the lack of appropriate tools. In contrast, biomagnetism is innate to magnetotactic bacteria, mud-dwelling microbes which as geomagnetic sensors biomineralize iron nanocrystals with exceptional properties, the magnetosomes. However, transplantation of magnetosome biosynthesis has remained unachieved for many years, owing to its complexity and lack of knowledge of genetic determinants. Recently, my lab discovered relevant biosynthetic gene clusters and for the first time succeeded in expressing them in a foreign bacterium. Inspired by this major breakthrough, I now propose a step change approach for endogenous magnetization of diverse organisms based on bacterial magnetosome biosynthesis. By combining systematic genetic reduction with bottom-up redesign we will first minimize the pathway to make it universally portable. We will then reprogram E. coli into a chassis for plug-in expression of diverse magnetosome gene sets. By harnessing determinants of structurally diverse magnetosomes from various bacteria, we will reconfigure the pathway for mix-and-match generation of designer nanoparticles with tuned magnetic properties. Finally, we will attempt to reconstitute key parts of magnetosome formation in eukaryotic hosts by using yeast mitochondria as a universal model. The overall aim is to generate a versatile synthetic toolkit for genetic magnetization of different organisms. This would represent a quantum leap with tremendous impact on various fields of biomedical research and biotechnology. It might be exploited for bioproduction of tailored magnetic nanomaterials with novel and tunable properties. It could be further utilized to generate intracellular labels, tracers and actuators for magnetic manipulation and analysis of cells and organisms in the emerging field of magnetogenetics.

Mots-clés : magnetosomes,magnetotactic bacteria,magnetic nanoparticles,biomineralization
Projet ERC : VAMOS (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The study of the human past
Entité participante : Austrian Academy of Sciences — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : OAW
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499680.0 €

Analysing the link between reproduction and women’s social status, this project explores social responses to pregnancy, birth and childrearing from the late Neolithic to the late Iron Age (c.3000-15 BC) through case studies in central Europe. Motherhood and childrearing, often seen as natural, mundane and inevitable parts of women’s lives, are also cultural and historically contingent practices that build the foundations of societies. Exploring the value of mothers to society will aid in understanding important long-term developments such as social stratification, increasing population density and the entrenching of gender roles during the three millennia under investigation. Bringing together the latest developments in archaeological science, including palaeo-pathology, ancient DNA and isotope analyses, with innovative interpretative approaches, this project will explore if all women were expected to become mothers, highlight alternative lifeways, evaluate risks and consequences of becoming a mother and analyse the social value of reproductive success. It is the first study that aims to systematically predict the probability of whether or not a woman has given birth using palaeo-pathological markers combined with individual age information and population-specific demographic data. It will contextualize the findings with an in-depth status analysis of women’s graves. Graves of pregnant women, double burials of women and children as well as infant burials will provide further data. The study extends to childrearing (care, feeding, but also abuse, neglect and infanticide) and explores how children were treated after death for insights into their significance. Current political discourses about mothers in society and workforce frequently refer to ‘natural’ and ‘ancient’ childrearing practices. This project will contribute significantly to our understanding of motherhood and counter naive narratives of childrearing in prehistory with science-based information.
Projet ERC : SUCCESS (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The study of the human past
Entité participante : University of Bologna — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UNIBO
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1993811.0 €

Anatomically modern humans (AMHs) radiated out of Africa into the rest of the world around 60,000-50,000 years ago. While various evidence suggests arrivals of AMHs in Asia and Australia ca. 45,000 calendar years before present (cal BP), the timing and pattern of the biological and cultural shifts that occurred in Europe around 50,000 to 35,000 cal BP, are hotly debated and are considered to be among the most important questions in paleoanthropology. This period documents 1) the demise of the autochthons Neandertals and their replacement by AMHs as well as 2) dramatic changes in human behaviour and the appearance of various technocomplexes that replaced pre-existing Mousterian cultures. Debate revolves around the question of whether modern behaviour was independently achieved by Neandertals or is directly related to the arrival of AMH. In this context Italy plays a pivotal role due to its geographic position and ecological variability, and key archaeological sites with transitional and early Upper Paleolithic cultures. This interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary project aims to understand when AMHs arrived in Southern Europe, the biocultural processes that favoured their successful adaptation and the final cause of Neandertal extinction. The project involves survey in Italy and field investigations of key archaeological sites dating to the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic Transition, paleoecological, zooarchaeological, paleoanthropological and isotope analyses, studies of pigments, ornaments, lithic and bone tools, as well as statistical modeling using cutting-edge protocols. The results of this work will be of pivotal importance for understanding a key period in European prehistory and, more generally, the biocultural, adaptive and ecological characteristics that make our species successful and unique. It implies that this project will be crucial for understanding the replacement of all hominin species by AMHs around the world.
Projet ERC : eDrop (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Entité participante : Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ETH Zurich
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2500000.0 €

Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy of aerosol droplets (“droplet photoelectron imaging”) is a novel approach to study fundamental aspects of the electron dynamics in liquids and across interfaces. Our recent proof-of-principle studies demonstrate that droplet photoelectron imaging not only complements, but also significantly extends the range of accessible information over established methods. Two aspects are unique to droplets: Firstly, the droplet size can be varied over a wide range from submicrons to microns. While large droplets provide overlap with liquid microjet and bulk studies, small droplets offer additional control by acting as efficient optical resonators. These optical cavity effects can be exploited to control where in the droplet the photoelectrons are generated; e.g. surface versus volume. Secondly, comprehensive information about photoelectron kinetic energy and angular distributions can be obtained fast and in a straightforward way by velocity map imaging. Building on our proof-of-principle studies, we propose to exploit the versatility of the droplet approach to address fundamental questions regarding electron dynamics in liquids and across interfaces: Can this new tool provide the missing data for low-energy electron scattering in water and other liquids and resolve the issue of the “universal curve”? How do slow electrons scatter across liquid-gas and buried liquid-liquid/solid interfaces and how does this depend on the composition and curvature of the interface? How is the ultrafast relaxation dynamics of electrons following above-band-gap excitation influenced by electron scattering and confinement effects? Low-energy electron scattering is a determining factor in radiation chemistry and biology and a central aspect of the solvated electron dynamics, while interfacial processes play a key role in atmospheric aerosols. Droplet photoelectron imaging opens up new ways to study such phenomena.

Mots-clés : photoelectron spectroscopy,femtosecond laser spectroscopy,velocity map imaging,electron scattering,electron mean free path,ultrafast electron dynamics,solvated electron,aerosol,interface