Project description
The origins of cellular protein complexes
Small but mighty, proteins are important for cellular housekeeping. Protein complexes play a significant role in the core functionality of cells. The ERC-funded EVOCATION project aims to study this complexity. It will explore the idea that proteins drift into complex partnerships that eventually become permanent through necessity rather than improvement. To prove this, researchers are using ancestral sequence reconstruction to recreate ancient proteins in a lab. This way, scientists will see how they behaved before they became part of modern complexes. By focusing on vital enzymes like RubisCO (used by plants to fix CO2) and citrate synthase, the team is measuring how chance encounters between proteins eventually turned into the rigid cellular architecture we see today.
Objective
Almost all proteins perform their functions as part of protein complexes. These assemblies are intricate and often beautiful examples of evolution?s capacity to generate complexity. But are they built by natural selection? My recent work has revealed that they may in fact be produced and maintained across vast time scales by neutral processes, even if they provide no adaptive benefit at all. In this proposal, I will test this radical idea by bringing together ancestral sequence reconstruction and quantitative biochemistry of protein complexes. I will use this approach to experimentally unravel the evolutionary processes that generate and maintain biochemical complexity in three model systems that exemplify archetypical protein-protein interactions: In the first objective, I will unravel what drives the evolutionary gain and loss of homomeric interactions. I will recapitulate how the universally conserved enzyme citrate synthase repeatedly underwent changes in self-assembly state. I will test if these changes were adaptive or whether they result from new interfaces being highly evolvable. In the second objective, I will probe why protein complexes evolve to depend on transient interactions with folding and assembly chaperones. I will retrace how the CO2 fixing enzyme RubisCO acquired a set of dedicated assembly and folding chaperones. I will unravel whether the initial gain of new chaperone interactions was useful and determine what later caused RubisCO to start completely depending on them. In the third objective, I will unravel if many of the interactions between different complexes are caused by neutral evolution. I will use a new experimental approach in yeast to quantify the rate at which complexes gain interactions with the rest of the proteome by chance alone. Together, these experiments will show for the first time how adaptive evolution and neutral processes interacted to produce the intricate biochemical complexity we see inside cells today.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2021-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
35037 Marburg
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.