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H2020Doctoral network2015–2018

CLOSPORE · UNDERSTANDING THE CLOSTRIDIUM SPORE, A PREREQUISTE FOR DISEASE INTERVENTIONS AND EXPLOITATION

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2015-01-01 → 2018-12-31
EU contribution
€3,910,778
Participants
17
Scheme
MSCA-ITN-ETN

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Results in brief

UNDERSTANDING THE CLOSTRIDIUM SPORE, A PREREQUISTE FOR DISEASE INTERVENTIONS AND EXPLOITATION

Sporulation and germination in clostridia are poorly understood. These processes are key intervention points for the prevention of disease and food spoilage, for optimising biofuel and platform chemical production, and for refining clostridia as drug delivery systems. Progress has been hindered by a lack of a coordinated, focused effort in the European research community, an insufficient number of scientists with expertise in clostridial microbiology and an absence of robust genetic tools. Clospore aimed to capitalise on recent advances in genomics, forwards and reverse genetics to identify and dissect the genes involved in sporulation and germination, and in commercial formation of biofuels. In the process, Clospore aimed to organise European research efforts in the field, both in pathogenic and commercially important clostridia, in order to bring about a coordinated and united effort to advance our understanding of these processes. The implementation of Clospore sought to create a critical mass of trained young researchers, and foster industry-academia relations to advance Europe as the leader in this field. The development, optimisation and implementation of a suite of advanced genetic tools throughout Clospore, facilitated the identification of novel structural and regulatory genes involved in not only sporulation and germination, but also biological processes key to the pathogenesis and biotechnological suitability of many clostridia. In doing so, a plethora of previously uncharacterised genotype-phenotype characterisations have been uncovered, in particular, the central role of multiple sigma factors in the regulation of sporulation and germination.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Bacterial endospores are the most resistant life-forms on earth and the most important single feature of the genus Clostridium. Thus, whilst the pathogenesis of its notorious pathogens (C. botulinum, C. perfringens and C. difficile) is ascribed to the devastating toxins produced (neurotoxins, endotoxins and cytotoxins), it is their capacity to produce spores that lies at the heart of the diseases they cause. This is because spores play the pivotal role in the spread of infection (eg, C. difficile) and in foodstuff contamination and food poisoning (eg, C. botulinum and C. perfringens). The processes of spore formation (sporulation) and germination (return of the dormant spore to toxin-producing, vegetative cells), therefore, represent key intervention points. On the other hand, the majority of clostridia are entirely benign and can sustainably produce all manner of useful chemicals and fuels. Crucially, the regulation of chemical production is intimately linked to that of sporulation. Spores of benign species may also be used as a delivery system for treating cancer. Yet, despite the spore’s importance, little is known of the developmental processes of sporulation and germination. This is because research and training efforts on Clostridium spores are fragmented and there is no coherence between researchers working on pathogenic and industrially important species. CLOSPORE will address this deficiency by pooling the resources of Europe’s leading universities, research organisations and companies, to create an intersectorial Research and Training Programme that is multi-facetted, interdisciplinary and focused on clostridial spores. Accordingly, CLOSPORE will produce the innovative, applied research leaders of the future, able to tackle the big societal challenges facing Europe and the world.

Original text from CORDIS.

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Data: CORDIS, © European Union