Description du projet
Explorer l’origine de la vie à l’aide de la mimétique cellulaire
L’humanité a toujours essayé de trouver des réponses au sujet de l’abiogenèse, de l’émergence et de l’évolution des cellules vivantes actuelles à partir de composants non vivants. Des mimétiques cellulaires artificiels auto-organisés, appelés protocellules, ont été utilisés comme outils expérimentaux pour étudier l’origine de la vie. Le projet PROGRAMED PROTOCELLS, financé par l’UE, a pour but de concevoir et de construire des protocellules complexes capables de traiter des signaux spécifiques et d’interagir en communautés. Ces colonies de protocellules aideront les chercheurs à étudier pour la première fois les fonctions biologiques et les réseaux qui fonctionnent spontanément et en synergie dans cette forme de vie primitive.
Objectif
Artificial cellular counterparts (protocells) can be fabricated to produce explicit biomimetic outcomes such as RNA-mediated replication, gene expression, metabolism, etc. These synthetic mimics with cell-like traits, aim to answer fundamental questions regarding origin of cellularity from non-living components. However, minimal levels of structural/organisational complexity exhibited in current protocell designs, limits their application potential. The aim of this proposal is to use bottom-up approaches to precisely design and construct complex protocells through membrane coupled appendages and produce interactive protocellular communities which will recognize, sort and processes chemical signals through collective behaviour. The self-assembled protocellular colonies will be sequestered with complex enzymatic reaction networks which operate spontaneously and synergistically reminiscent to living cells. Several important functions such as selective formation of protocellular consortia, mimicking important biological functions such as IDH-kinase/phosphatase (AceK) circuitry from the Krebs cycle, redox-homeostasis, self-protection from chemical degradation will increase the complexity of the protocellular constructs producing the first example of functional proto-colonies. The expertise of the applicant in the field of organic synthesis, supramolecular chemistry and out-of-equilibrium self-assembly will be employed by the multidisciplinary and evolving field of protocells pioneered by the hosting group of Professor Stephen Mann FRS at the University of Bristol. The combined research efforts of the applicant and the Mann group will result in the successful realization of programmable protocells resulting in active self-assembling protocellular constructs and build their advanced forms capable of spatio-temporal self-sorting, self-regulation and higher-order organization and function.
Champ scientifique
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Programme(s)
Régime de financement
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinateur
BS8 1QU Bristol
Royaume-Uni