Latest FCT Exploratory Projects at ITQB NOVA
Oeiras, 18th December 2024
These projects, approved in FCT's 2023 Exploratory Projects (PEX) call, will explore scientific problems in the areas of Experimental Biology and Biochemistry, Chemistry, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences and Agro-Food Biotechnology, and Biological Sciences. Learn more about each one:
• Infection by the bacterium Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) causes severe diarrhea, representing a major health threat in developing countries. “EPEC uses a protein called Tir to invade host cells, but we still don’t fully understand how it works”, says Marco Saraiva (Dynamic Structural Biology lab), leader of this project, that will explore a creative solution: “using another protein, HypF-N, to "trap" Tir, by making them stick together in clumps". This would prevent Tir from attaching to host cells and stop the infection process.
• Andreia Pimenta (Bacterial Energy Metabolism lab) will study the interaction mechanisms between Bilophila wadsworthia – a bacterium that although forms a small part of the gut’s microbiome, has an important role – and its host. “Our project aims to reveal, for the first time, the pathogenicity factors used by this bacterium to induce inflammation upon direct interaction with host cells and the bacterial physiologic and metabolic adaptations that take place during infection in vivo”.
• How can we increase plant resistance to diseases? The answer might be on molecules extracted from the plant polymer cutin, that activate the plant immune system. “Our project has a great sustainability and circularity component, as it uses agro-industrial waste – tomato pomace – as a source of cutin – which is abundant in tomato skin - to produce these molecules”, explains Carlos Moreira (Applied and Environmental Mycology lab), leader of this project.
• Leonor Margalha (Plant Cell Biotechnology lab)’s project focuses on ionic liquids – highly versatile organic salts with the ability to alter the metabolic profile and stress response in fungi – as switchers to plant secondary metabolism. “We will use a plant cell system as a screening platform to study the impact of ionic liquids on the secondary metabolism of plants, with the aim of producing compounds of high interest”.
• Some bacteria can turn wastewater into electricity by breaking down waste and releasing electrons, which generate power when they flow to an electrode. Haris Nalakath (Inorganic Biochemistry and NMR lab)'s project is studying a marine bacterium, Vibrio natriegens, for its potential in clean energy production. Vibrio natriegens stands out because it grows quickly, adapts easily, and thrives in salty, low-oxygen environments. "These traits make it ideal for bioelectrochemical applications," he explains.
• During human reproduction, a sperm cell and an egg cell can fuse in vitro (outside of the female body), but in plant reproduction this never occurs. A potential explanation is that, unlike human reproduction, plant egg cell and sperm cell are naturally surrounded by other female cells at the moment of fusion. “In this project, we plan to explore the putative role of these other female cells on coordinating the fusion between sperm cell and egg cell”, explains María Flores-Tornero (Plant Reproduction and Evolution lab), leader of the project.
• Margarida Saramago (Control of Gene Expression lab) will be working to develop targeted antivirals to fight feline coronavirus, the virus responsible for Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) — a deadly disease in cats. “Currently, there are no effective cures or vaccines for this disease, and unfortunately, the fate of diagnosed cats is euthanasia” she explains. The project aims to attack key viral proteins called ribonucleases (RNases), which are essential for the virus to replicate and spread.
• Bacterial infections are becoming harder to treat due to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. One promising but understudied target for new antibiotics is the bacterial cell cycle. Nils Meiresonne (Bacterial Cell Biology lab)’s project aims to track how key proteins interact during cell division in Staphylococcus aureus, a major disease-causing bacterium. Using advanced microscopy techniques, the team will observe these interactions in living cells with unprecedented detail.
• Millions of tons of lignin preparations are produced by the paper industry every year. Tiago Martins (Applied and Environmental Mycology lab) is leading a project to engineer fungal microorganisms to turn lignin breakdown products into valuable chemicals, while identifying the key factors enabling this ability across different species.
Each project will be awarded up to €50,000. Nationally, 403 projects were funded in this call.
