Objectives of the project:
For decades, biology textbooks have taught that the genetic code is fixed: three letters form a coding codon, and three codons signal stop at the end of the coding region of each mRNA. When a stop signal appears in the coding region of mRNA as a result of a mutation, it results in a truncated protein and disease.
The ERC-funded 3Stops2Go project aims to challenge this. In single-celled protists such as Blastocrithidia nonstop, researchers have found that stop codons can be reinterpreted, thanks to unusual transfer RNAs that read through them. By exploring this flexible decoding system, the project will engineer tRNAs and readthrough drugs capable of overriding faulty stop signals in human cells. The findings could pave a new therapeutic path for severe genetic diseases.
International project team: Leoš Valášek, Institute of Microbiology of the the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic, Julius Lukeš, Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic, Olivier Namy, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, France, Mark Osborn, University of Minnesota, USA.
| Acronym | 3Stops2Go |
| Number and ID code of the project: | 101224040 – 3Stops2Go – ERC-2025-SyG |
| Type of the project | HORIZON ERC Synergy Granty |
| Coordinator | Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences |
| IMIC Principal researcher | Dr. rer. nat. Leoš Valášek, DSc., MAE |
| Start of the project | 07/2026 |
| End of the project | 06/2032 |
| Total number of particip. countries | 3 |
| Of which from EU | 2 |
| Number of partners | 3 |
| Total funding of the project | 9 755 098,00 EUR |
| Funding for IMIC | 2 599 960,00 EUR |
| Provider | European Research Council Executive Agency – HORIZON ERC Synergy Granty |