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H2020Individual fellowship2016–2018

a-Sign · Cyclic nucleotide signalling in the human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2016-05-01 → 2018-04-30
EU contribution
€148,636
Participants
1
Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST

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Results in brief

Cyclic nucleotide signalling in the human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes

a-Sign looks into how bacteria use intracellular signals to sense and adapt to their surroundings. It focuses on small molecules called cyclic nucleotides, which can play a role in relaying information to change a bacterium's behavior upon sensing of different stimuli. The bacterium used in this study was Listeria monocytogenes, one of the most virulent foodborne pathogens, causing febrile gastroenteritis and listeriosis, and affecting pregnant women, newborns, immunocompromised individuals, and the elderly. To understand how L. monocytogenes survives to the environment is important because the population of the Western countries is ageing and the elderly are a risk group. Since 2012, the number of listeriosis cases has been in constant increase. In this project, the cyclic nucleotides (cAMP, cGMP, c-di-AMP and c-di-GMP) and their regulatory function (including virulence and antimicrobial resistance), were investigated.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Nucleotides are the building blocks of nucleic acids and have emerged as significant determinants in energy transfer and signalling. Four nucleotides are known to function as signalling molecules in bacteria, namely the cyclic mono-nucleotides cAMP and cGMP, and the cyclic di-nucleotides c-di-AMP and c-di-GMP. These molecules play specific and distinct roles in many bacterial species, and can co-exist within a single bacterial cell. Whereas the diversity of cyclic nucleotide signalling is now starting to be uncovered, very little is known about their coordination in the control of their respective signalling pathways. Specifically, in the human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, agent of a life-threatening and foodborne disease, it is known that both cyclic di-nucleotides c-di-AMP and c-di-GMP are produced but the production of cAMP and cGMP, as well as the contribution of the four nucleotides to the virulence mechanisms deployed by L. monocytogenes is yet to be uncovered. Using multidisciplinary approaches, the present proposal aims to 1) investigate the production of cAMP and cGMP, 2) identify new signalling pathways governed by the different cyclic nucleotides, and 3) uncover their role in physiology and pathogenesis. The overall impact of this proposal can open up the field to novel concepts and provide a basis for the study of cyclic nucleotide crosstalk.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • INSTITUTO DE BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR E CELULAR-IBMC · PortoCoordinatorPortugal

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union