List_MAPS PROJECT (2015-2019)
« Training and Research in Listeria monocytogenes adaptation through proteomic and transcriptome deep sequencing analysis »
List_MAPS is a European project funded by the Research and Innovation programme of the European Union Horizon2020 under the Marie-Skłodowska Curie actions (ITN-ETN). Coordinated by the University of Burgundy, the project started on March 2015 and associates nine full partners (Beneficiaries) and two associated partners (Partners organisations) from five European countries (France, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands and Denmark) which belong to private and public sectors.
List_MAPS focuses on Listeria monocytogenes, an ubiquitous pathogen present in agricultural and food environments (soil, animals, food industry) that is in the EU the leading cause of mortality and food recalls due to foodborne pathogens, costing the EU millions of euro per annum in medical care and associated costs in the food sector. The overall objective of the research programme is to tackle food safety through the combination of high throughput Epigenetics, Deep sequencing of transcripts, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Mathematics and Microbiology to decipher the transcriptional regulatory circuitry that drives adaptation and virulence of L.monocytogenes from farm to fork. With the combination of these expertises List_MAPS focuses on these major objectives:
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- Understand how environmental conditions in soil, plants, biofilms and food matrices influence the capacity of L.monocytogenes to cause infection.
- Develop an integrated model of the regulatory circuitry of the pathogenic bacterium in order to refine our knowledge of the environmentally-dependent gene modules that underpin its ubiquitous nature and its capacity to generate infection.
- Assess intraspecific diversity of virulence potential and biofilm in relation to environmental cues.
- Develop a cost efficient, rapid semiconductor sequencing application designed to assess the virulence potential of large numbers of isolates, sparing the cost, burden and ethical issues related to animal models.
To achieve these objectives eleven Early-Stage Researchers (ESR) have been recruited for 24 to 36 months to develop scientific expertise through an innovative Ph.D training, including mobility of researchers, participation to national and international events like summer schools, workshops and conferences and transfer-of-knowledge in the areas of Transcriptomics, Proteomics, Sequencing and Systems Biology. List_MAPS includes a strong co-operation between academia and industry that will enhance the training to ESRs and provides in addition to the scientific skills, transferable skills to create a world-class training for creative, entrepreneurial and innovative ESRs.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska Curie grant agreement n° 641984
