MEYS ERC CZ

The program aims to support “frontier research” projects (projects pushing the frontier of knowledge irrespective of the traditional structure) of Czech, internationally recognized researchers who have succeeded in the evaluation by the panels of the European Research Council in both rounds by A or B.
The ERC CZ program is not divided into sub-programs.​​​

BioPhage

Phage replication in bacterial biofilm

• Principal Investigator: Mgr. Pavel Plevka, Ph.D.
• Acronym: BioPhage
• Investor: MEYS
• Project type: Research, Experimental Development and Innovation
• Implementation period: 01.01.2020 - 31.12.2024
• Budget: 61 008 807 CZK

Project description: 

The ability of bacteria to form biofilms complicates their treatment. Bacteriophages can infect and kill bacteria in biofilm, but the use of phages as medicines prevents a lack of knowledge of their biology. We will determine the mechanisms underlying the phage propagation in biofilm and the assembly of phage progeny in the infected cells. We describe the course of phage infection in clinically relevant conditions and allow the development of new drugs.

The results of LL1906 project were obtained with the financial support of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports as a part of the ERC CZ program.​

PeptideKillers​

Peptide Killers of Bacteria

​

• Principal Investigator: doc. RNDr. Robert Vácha, PhD.
• Acronym: PeptideKillers
• Investor: MEYS
• Project type: Research, Experimental Development and Innovation
• Implementation period: 01.07.2020 - 30.06.2025
• Budget: 62 660 000 CZK

Project description: 

We will develop a method for targeting peptides to membranes with a specific lipid composition and determine the key properties of peptides for their spontaneous translocation and pore formation in membranes. The proposed peptides will be tested experimentally on lipid vesicles, bacteria and human red blood cells.

The results of LL2007 project were obtained with the financial support of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports as a part of the ERC CZ program.

CROSSBET

Crosstalk between transcription and translation

• Principal Investigator: Mgr. Gabriel Demo, Ph.D.
• Acronym: CROSBETT
• Investor: MEYS
• Project type: Research, Experimental Development and Innovation
• Implementation period: 01.07.2020 - 30.06.2025
• Budget: 49 590 000 CZK

Project description: 

In bacteria and Archaea, newly transcribed RNAs are immediately bound by ribosomes, linking transcription and translation. Recent studies using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) show that RNA polymerase and the ribosome can interact directly. This is in contrast to eukaryotic transcription and translation, which are physically separated by the nuclear envelope. However, some double-stranded DNA viruses replicate in the cytoplasmic factories of infected eukaryotic cells, suggesting the possibility that viral transcription may be directly linked to translation in host ribosomes in vivo. I propose to reveal the fundamental mechanisms of the interconnection of transcription and translation in bacteria and to verify the hypothesis that the replication of cytoplasmic viruses in eukaryotic cells requires the interconnection of transcription and translation. To understand the mechanism of interconnection of transcription and translation in bacteria, we characterize the composition of interconnected transcription-translation complexes and visualize their structures using cryo-EM. Time-resolved cryo-EM studies will allow us to capture the transient structural intermediates of bacterial RNA polymerase and the ribosome during the junction of transcription and translation.

​The results of LL2008 project were obtained with the financial support of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports as a part of the ERC CZ program.