The German Research Foundation (DFG) invites researchers to submit proposals for the second three-year funding period of the Priority Programme SPP 2416 (Code𝛘). Deadline for proposal submission is 24 June 2026. Funding of successful applications is planned to start at the end of 2026. We warmly encourage scientists from relevant fields of research to take this opportunity to contribute to the next funding phase of the Code𝛘 Priority Programme.
Click here to view the new Call for proposals at the DFG website.
A longer version of the Call containing additional information on the programme’s background and scientific community is provided below.
For scientific enquiries, please contact the Priority Programme coordinator: Prof. Dr. Hans Merzendorfer.
Aims and Scope of the Programme
Although notably absent in plants and vertebrates, chitin and chitosans (C/CS) rank among the most abundant and versatile polymers in nature, serving as essential components of extracellular matrices across a wide range of organisms, including arthropod cuticles and fungal cell walls. In these organisms, C/CS form the structural basis of diverse biomaterials with an exceptional range of physicochemical and mechanical properties. Moreover, C/CS and, in particular, C/CS-derived oligomers (COS) from C/CS-containing organisms interact with and affect other organisms, including non-C/CS-containing eukaryotic cells in plants, animals, and humans, in multiple and profound ways. Despite the ubiquity and functional importance of C/CS, the molecular and structural principles that give rise to the diversity of structures and interactions remain largely unexplored. Knowledge gaps also persist regarding their interactions with other cellular and extracellular components, as well as their roles in intercellular and interorganismal communication.
A growing body of evidence indicates that sugar polymers like C/CS encode biologically relevant information. It is the molecular fine structure of C/CS, defined by the degree of polymerisation (DP) as well as the degree and pattern of acetylation (DA and PA), which carries information and plays a decisive role in determining the physicochemical and biological properties of C/CS-containing matrices and functional materials. Beyond these widespread and diverse structural roles, COS – e.g., generated through the action of C/CS-degrading enzymes of C/CS-producing organisms, but also in the environment and host species – function as potent information-bearing molecules. They are specifically recognized by COS-binding receptors of human, animal and plant immune systems, where they elicit defense and stress mitigating responses. Building on this premise, we hypothesized and showed that the fine-structure of C/CS and COS constitutes a molecular information system, herein referred to as “Code𝛘” (with 𝛘 denoting chito). This code is “written”, “enacted” and “interpreted” by a diverse repertoire of C/CS-synthesizing and -modifying enzymes and C/CS-binding proteins in organisms that produce these polymers, as well as by C/CS-degrading enzymes and COS-binding receptors in environmental hosts that interact with C/CS-containing organisms.
The overall aim of this Priority Programme is to decipher Code𝛘, elucidating the molecular, structural and biophysical principles governing C/CS/COS function in biological systems. By integrating fundamental biological and chemical research with materials-orientated approaches, the programme seeks not only to advance a mechanistic understanding of C/CS/COS biology but also to leverage this knowledge for the rational design and fabrication of novel functional materials. The programme addresses how the biosynthesis, modification and degradation of C/CS by chitin synthases, chitin deacetylases and chitinases/chitosanases are regulated to generate C/CS and COS with defined DP, DA and PA, thereby writing Code𝛘. It further investigates how Code𝛘 is enacted to orchestrate the assembly, structural organization, and functional diversification of C/CS-containing extracellular matrices. Another focus is the interpretation of Code𝛘 in biological contexts, encompassing the controlled generation – or its avoidance – of information-bearing COS and their perception by dedicated immune receptors in plants, animals, and humans. Finally, the programme aims to advance analytical, synthetic, and computational methodologies to characterize Code𝛘, reconstitute C/CS-based structures with defined properties, and utilize this knowledge for the rational development of functional materials.
In the first funding period, the Priority Programme was centered around two main questions, which were addressed in different synthetic models as well as in biological systems including protists, fungi, plants, insects and mammals: (1) How are C/CS-based matrices organized into higher-order structures by C/CS-binding proteins interpreting Code𝛘 to generate a large variety of extracellular matrices with different physicomechanical properties? (2) How are COS generated in biological systems, and which precise Code𝛘 characteristics (i.e. DP, DA and PA) trigger their recognition by immune receptors? To facilitate this research, the Priority Programme established three central Service Projects, providing chemically defined COS and chitosan polymers, as well as recombinant C/CS-binding proteins, and enabling interaction analyses of defined C/CS/COS with chitin-binding proteins/receptors. As a hallmark, microfluidic chips were fabricated covalently carrying different chemically defined COS to determine binding properties and analyze structure-function relationships.
In the second funding period, the Priority Programme will continue elucidating the biological significance of Code𝛘 in established and new biological systems and expanding structure-function analyses between defined C/CS/COS and binding proteins/receptors. In addition, the gained knowledge about writing, enacting and interpreting Code𝛘 will be utilized for the preparation of novel functional materials, e.g. for drug-delivery, tissue engineering, and plant protection. The Service Projects will continue to support the Programme’s research projects by providing defined C/CS/COS and analytical capabilities, while further refining techniques to improve and broaden synthesis and analysis efficiencies. The strong collaboration between the service and research projects will continue to provide an interdisciplinary framework for elucidating fundamental biological processes and for opening new avenues in biomaterials science, biotechnology, and biomedical applications. This will be made possible through the integration of molecular and cellular biology, biophysics, chemistry, and advanced analytical and imaging techniques.
Successful proposals are expected to advance the overarching scientific goals of the Priority Programme by elucidating the role of Code𝛘 in regulating the biosynthesis, modification and degradation of C/CS, uncovering the design principles of C/CS-containing extracellular matrices, and defining the structure-function relationships of C/CS-interacting proteins, enzymes and receptors, that mediate COS-triggered immune reactions. In this second round, we are particularly seeking projects which build on substantial prior work strongly suggesting a role for Code𝛘 in the system investigated. We encourage researchers to submit proposals going beyond the goals of the first funding period by addressing Code𝛘 higher-order roles in, for instance, remodelling extracellular matrices or regulating immune responses, implementing Code𝛘 into functional materials or investigating Code𝛘 by systems biology approaches. Projects limited to descriptive approaches of only identifying new C/CS-related enzymes, binding proteins, or receptors, or to approaches focusing on C/CS-based materials without addressing Code𝛘 principles, are outside the scope of the Priority Programme.
Interdisciplinarity and Scientific community
A key to the success of the Priority Programme was and remains its ability to bring together scientists from life sciences, chemistry, and materials sciences, to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, knowledge exchange and synergy within the consortium. Individual projects should address at least one of the outlined aspects concerning the role of Code𝛘 in biological or synthetic systems in depth while also generating results and information relevant to other projects. To further strengthen interdisciplinarity, joint projects led by two principal investigators from different fields are strongly encouraged, as are individual proposals from outstanding early-career scientists eligible for DFG funding. In addition to their own research goals, selected projects are expected to contribute specific expertise or services to the consortium, such as core methodologies for the synthesis and analysis of C/CS/COS-based materials, or for characterizing their interactions with proteins in silico, in vitro and in vivo. Researchers wishing to contribute to or benefit from this shared expertise are strongly advised to contact the coordinator well in advance of the preparatory meeting and submission deadline.
To ensure high scientific quality standards, we have established an international advisory committee, with one leading scientist for each discipline represented in the Priority Programme. The networking activities will include annual internal retreats, an online seminar series, annual summer schools, and international conferences. We will further provide support to early-career scientists and offer family-friendly policies. We seek to increase the proportion of women scientists in the field for which we have placed various targeted measures. All activities of the consortium are coordinated on the Code𝛘 website.
Preparatory Meeting
Scientists who are interested in submitting a proposal for an individual or a joint project in the second funding period are invited to a preparatory meeting hosted by the programme committee and held on 21 April 2026, which will take place online and be announced on the Codec𝛘 website. In this meeting, the background and the organizational structure of the Priority Programme will be presented. Furthermore, break-out sessions will facilitate networking amongst potential applicants. Participation in this meeting is not a pre-requisite but highly recommended for the submission of proposals in the scope of this programme. Scientists who are interested are requested to register by 10 April 2026 via the Code𝛘 website. We strongly encourage all interested parties to submit a short outline of the project idea together with the contact data, a summary of expertise and 2-3 references of relevant articles by this date. These data will be made accessible to all PIs who have registered via a protected area of the Code𝛘 website.
Proposal Submission
Proposals must be written in English and submitted to DFG by 24 June 2026. Please note that proposals can only be submitted via elan, the DFG’s electronic proposal processing system. To enter a new project within the existing Priority Programme, go to Proposal Submission – New Project/Draft Proposal – Priority Programmes and then select “SPP 2416” from the current list of calls. Previous applicants can submit a proposal for the renewal of an existing project under Proposal Submission – Proposal Overview/Renewal Proposal.
In preparing your proposal, please review the programme guidelines (form 50.05, section B) and follow the proposal preparation instructions (form 54.01). These forms can either be downloaded from the DFG website or accessed through the elan portal. In addition to submitting your proposal through elan, please also send an electronic copy to the programme coordinator.
Applicants must be registered in elan prior to submitting a proposal to DFG. If you have not yet registered, please note that you must do so by 12 June 2026 to submit a proposal under this call. You will normally receive confirmation of your registration by the next working day. Note that you will be asked to select the appropriate Priority Programme call during both the registration and the proposal submission process.
All proposals are planned to be evaluated by a review panel from 22-24 September 2026 at the DFG Head Office in Bonn. All applicants will be informed in due course.
