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MECHANISM OF A PROGRAMMED CELL GROWTH ARREST DURING COMPETENCE FOR TRANSFORMATION IN STREPTOCOCCUS PNEUMONIAE – EXStasis
Organisms across all kingdoms of life have evolved the ability to turn on specific genetic differentiation programs that confer new properties, such as those defining the different stages of development of multicellular eukaryotic organisms. A well-known and widespread prokaryotic differentiation pr
COincidence DEtection in Cellular IDEntity – CODECIDE
Extracellular matrix proteins transmit multiple signals to cells in a temporally regulated and spatially structured manner. Thus, fibronectin, allows binding to integrin adhesive receptors and to growth factors. The proximity of these interaction sites allows a functional juxtaposition between integ
Impact of Microhomology Mediated End-Joining DNA repair pathway in vivo – i-MMEJ
Double strand breaks (DSB) are a severe threat to genome integrity in living organisms. In the wild environment animal cells are exposed to external DNA damaging such as chemicals or ionizing radiation. Multiple conserved pathways exist for the DSB repair, namely homologous recombination, non-homolo
Chemical-genetic control or autophagy – Autophagy
Autophagy, which occurs in general or organelle-specific variants, plays a fundamental role in the maintenance of cytoplasmic homeostasis, both at baseline and in response to multiple stressors. Deranged autophagy is involved in neurodegeneration, progeroid syndromes, oncogenesis and cardiovascular
Role of septins in animal cell morphogenesis – SEPTIMORF
Septins are expressed in all human tissues, and play roles in a wide range of biological processes, including cell division, cell motility, sperm integrity, neuron development, tissue morphogenesis, and host-pathogen interactions. Mutations and changes in the expression of septins are linked to infe
Roles of cell adhesion and mechanics in cell and tissue polarization – POLCAM
In this project we thus focused on the influence of the interplay between adhesion and the active cytoskeleton on the acquisition of polarization during collective cell migration. This has been developed and challenged both experimentally and theoretically. In line with current understanding of acti
Mechanotransduction of adipose stem cells implemented to soft tissue engineering – MecanoAdipo
Obesity affects about 10% of the world population and is the most prevalent cause of metabolic syndrome. Adipose growth in response to a high fat diet is mediated by two separate mechanisms: hypertrophy (increase in cell size) and hyperplasia (increase in cell number). Adipocytes are characterized b
Activation Mechanism of Bora-Plk1 Regulating Entry into mitosis – AMBRE
Cell division (Mitosis) is a fundamental process required for the generation of multicellular organisms, for tissue renewal and homeostasis. Mitosis drives the distribution of an identical genetic material into two daughter cells. Commitment to mitosis must be tightly coordinated with DNA replicatio
Single-cell study of the emergence of antibiotic resistance and bacterial genome diversification – UniBac
Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat worldwide that requires a strong investment in fundamental studies. Resistance, as well as transient tolerance (persistence) to antibiotics, involve a network of intracellular stress responses: e.g., the stringent response, the SOS response, and the RpoS-re
Intercellular communication upon mechanical stress stimulation in epithelial morphogenesis – CellCOMM
How three dimensional tubular or branched structures are formed from an epithelial sheet is a fundamental open question in developmental and regenerative biology. The proposed project aims to decipher the role of local mechanical stress propagation as a mechanism of intercellular communication and s
Properties of the gene regulatory network for the formation of new lateral roots in plants – NewRoot
The development of new organs relies on the precise regulation of cell division, cell fate commitment and cell differentiation by gene regulatory networks. Emergent properties of these genetic systems can generate tissue functional patterning in a robust and plastic fashion, possibly integrating end
Quantitative study of a threshold response of ERK signalling – ERKtivation
We address a long-standing problem of cell signalling: how a cell interprets a graded or variable signal to generate a threshold, or switch-like, response. The project focuses on the extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, which is evolutionary conserved and culminates in the phosphoryl
Small ORF-encoded peptides: exploring a novel repertoire of regulators for Drosophila morphogenesis – MorphoSmORF
Over the past decade, high throughput sequencing has revealed the existence of a myriad of long RNAs molecules, generally referred to as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) since they lack large (i.e. > 100 codons) protein-coding ORF. However, genome-wide ribosome profiling now demonstrates that lncRNAs
Investigations on the Malaria Hypnozoite – IMHyp
Efforts to eradicate malaria are thwarted by the persistence of Plasmodium vivax, a most globally prevalent parasite species, in areas where control measures have brought P. falciparum to near-elimination. The resilience of P. vivax is principally due to its ability to form dormant liver forms (hypn
The MyosinI system in Drosophila and zebrafish Left-Right asymmetry – DroZeMyo
The genetically controlled establishment of Left/Right (LR) asymmetry is a fundamental aspect of animal development, the importance of which is underscored by the fact that defects in the asymmetry of internal organs lead to severe pathologies. How symmetry is broken and how this translates into pol
Understanding cilia and flagella diversity – DIVERCIL
The overall goal of this proposal is to understand how cilia and flagella are assembled and how cilia diversity is generated. These highly organized organelles play fundamental biological functions in a wide range of organisms. For example, motile cilia and flagella are required for fluid flow and c
The tubulin code as mechanism for context-dependent fine-tuning of microtubule functions – TUBTUNE
The microtubule cytoskeleton is an evolutionarily conserved macromolecular assembly with a large variety of functions in living cells. Adaptation to specific functions is likely controlled by the tubulin code, a molecular mechanism to diversify microtubules. Here we will develop a systems approach t
Caveolae and Membrane Tension in Cell Motility – MOTICAV
Cell morphogenesis and motility are crucial processes at all stages of life, from development to tissue homeostasis, and are associated with several pathological states such as cancer. Motile cells have to quickly adapt their morphogenetic programs to the continuous changing microenvironments, which
Novel human pro-apoptotic transmembrane proteins targeting the mitochondrial network – MITOMORT
MITOMORT is a basic science project focusing on the role of an endogenous interferon induced gene (ISG) encoding a small protein that targets the mitochondria leading to cell death. The title is a play on mitochondrion and the French word for death, mort. APOBEC3A is an ISG gene encoding a cytidine
Neural stem cell and niche interplays during Drosophila neurogenesis – NeuraSteNic
The brain is plastic throughout life. It is able to integrate both intrinsinc, developmental and homeostatic cues, as well as extrinsic, environmental changes. The integration and mediation by the brain of this combinatorial input can result in a wide spectrum of positive or negative outcomes at the
Metabolic regulation of skin homeostasis – METABOSKIN
Some of our recent findings suggest that these notions have to be revisited in the context of epidermal cells. The epidermis is mainly composed of keratinocytes that are distributed in different layers reflecting the differentiation state of these cells. For instance, epidermal stem cells (ESC) are
Function of mechanical forces in the construction of neuronal circuits in vivo – NEUROMECHANICS
The aim of this project is to investigate the role of mechanical forces in the sculpting of neuronal circuits, the functional building blocks of the nervous system. Motion is highly involved in neuronal circuit development: neurons migrate to their final location, axons and dendrites emerge and grow
Understanding social evolution through the study of embryogenesis in ants – SocioDev
About 15,000 ant species are known and present highly diverse morphologies, behaviors, chemical signals and social organization, which always involve caring for the brood (Hölldobler and Wilson, 1990). Ant brood have relatively long developmental time, and their early phases, such as the mechanisms
Inhibitory neurotransmitter release and receptor dynamics during synaptic transmission: real-time imaging at single molecule level – SynTrack
The aim of this project is to understand at the microscopic and molecular level the relationship between inhibitory neurotransmitter release and receptor dynamics during synaptic transmission. To this aim we will make use of real-time super-resolutive microscopy. Actually, transfer of information
Interplay between cell polarity, shape and mechanics controlling the embryonic cleavage pattern – MorCell
Following fertilization embryos follow a predictable pattern of early cleavage divisions that are often conserved within certain classes of animals (Wilson, 1900). A central unresolved question in the field is what generic rules govern the pattern of cleavage divisions up to the blastula stage? The
Comparative analysis of ventral sensory neuron specification mechanisms in invertebrate chordates: insights into the origin and the evolution of the vertebrate peripheral nervous system. – VentralPNS
In the course of evolution, vertebrates have acquired unique novel structures compared to the other chordates, their close invertebrate relatives (amphioxus and ascidians). In particular, the neural crest and the ectodermal placodes give rise to the peripheral nervous system (PNS). These transient e
Structural dissection of mitochondrial tethering through super-resolution imaging – MOMIT
While membrane fusion underlies fundamental biological processes, the molecular machineries that drive this process are diverse and the mechanistic knowledge of in vivo membrane fusion remains far from complete. The most studied and best-understood membrane fusion system to date is that mediated by
Unravelling signaling pathways involved in encystment of disease-causing amoebae – AmoCyst
Surviving when living conditions become unfavourable is one of the challenges that all living organisms face. Barricading oneself and going into dormancy are all reactions found in the animal and plant world in the face of environmental stress. These strategies are also found at the microscopic leve
How do cells and tissues respond to mechanical forces during morphogenesis? – MechaResp
Biological tissues acquire reproducible shapes during development due to stereotypical dynamic cell behaviours. Epithelial cells remodel their contacts, divide or extrude in response to contractile forces. The magnitude and polarity of these forces are tightly controlled. How cells respond to tensil
Attraction and role of innate immune cells in brain injury. – ATTRACT
Brain injury is inflicted after stroke and many patients suffer from ill-repaired brain lesions after this event. Chemokine CXCL12 has been implicated in reorganization of damaged tissues including brain. It is expressed in cerebral vascular endothelial cells and is dramatically upregulated within t
The role of nano-mechanical motions in plant growth – Goodvibrations
Sonocytology is an emerging research field focusing on metabolically-driven nanoscale oscillations of the cell surface, which so far have been observed in several organisms in different kingdoms. To date, practically nothing is known about the origin and biological function of these oscillations. “G
Mechanisms of Stress Signalling by the Conserved (p)ppGpp Regulatory Cascade in the Chloroplast – G4PLAST
The stringent response is a conserved signalling cascade in prokaryotes that is orchestrated by the nucleotides guanosine pentaphosphate and tetraphosphate (together referred to as G4P). Conserved enzymes necessary for a stringent-like response are also found in photosynthetic eukaryotes due to the