About the project

Overview

• Title: Talking microbes - understanding microbial interactions within One Health framework
• Acronym: INTER-MICRO
• Coordinator: Jan Jansa
• Participating institutions:
  • Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences
  • University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague
  • Charles University 
• Duration: 1 January 2024 – 30 June 2028 (54 months)
• Total cost: 436.5 million CZK
• Project reference: CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004597
• Funded under:  Ministry of Education, Youth and Health of the Czech Republic, Programme Johannes Amos Comenius OP JAK, co-financed by the European Union EU

Project goals

1. To identify novel signalling molecules (i.e., the “words” in chemical cross-talk) involved in communication between prokaryotic microbes and/or microbes and their eukaryotic hosts.
2. To elucidate the mode of action of the previously established and novel signalling molecules, thus assembling the “sentences” and “messages”.
3. To successfully manipulate the eukaryotic-associative microbiome by changing the nutrient/energy inputs (diet), composition of starting microbiomes and by using the signalling molecules or their silencers, i.e. the “microbial language”.
4. To describe links between diet, associative microbiome and on-set and development of nutritional and health disorders in model eukaryotic hosts (e.g., fish, mouse, pig, soybean, mycorrhizal fungus).
5. To identify prokaryotic microbes, metabolic pathways and their regulation involved in the degradation of complex biomolecules or toxins of biological or industrial origin.
6. To describe ecosystem-wide microbiome shifts and their functional consequences in response to land use and global changes such as nutrient enrichment, drought, and biological invasions.