Description du projet
Créer une vie synthétique à partir de molécules artificielles
La vie est un mystère, et la vie synthétique pourrait nous éclairer sur ses origines et son éventuelle existence ailleurs. Qui plus est, elle peut contribuer à la création de nouveaux matériaux et catalyseurs. Peut-on synthétiser la vie? Le projet SynLife, financé par le CER, entend à répondre à cette question en synthétisant la vie à partir de molécules artificielles, en utilisant des gouttelettes alimentées chimiquement en tant que compartiments autonomes. Le projet se propose de développer des molécules autoréplicatives capables de muter et de se répartir dans ces gouttelettes, acquérant ainsi une identité. En cas de réussite, cette entreprise établira un système synthétique capable d’évolution darwinienne, ce qui représentera une avancée considérable dans notre compréhension de la vie. En outre, les résultats auront des ramifications pour la communauté biophysique et révolutionneront la conception des matériaux en intégrant l’évolution darwinienne en tant qu’outil de fabrication.
Objectif
Life is a mystery, with questions about how it emerged and if it exists elsewhere. Synthetic life can bring us closer to answers to these millennia-old questions. It is also extremely powerful to evolve new materials and catalysts, similar to directed evolution with bacteria. It begs the question, can we synthesize life?
SynLife aims to synthesize life from man-made molecules following NASA’s definition:Life is a self-sustaining system capable of Darwinian evolution.
Chemically fueled droplets will be the self-sustaining compartments. These self-dividing droplets compete for fuel (i.e. food) to thrive and will decay without fuel. We will develop self-replicating molecules that can mutate and partition inside of these droplets, so the droplets obtain an identity. For example, a population of droplets with replicator A differs from a population with replicator B. Moreover, these replicators affect the droplet’s phenotype, for example, by helping division or by offering longevity. To date, the combination of self-sustaining droplets and replicators has never been achieved.
Finally, populations of droplets compete with each other. In fueling-starvation experiments, it is expected that, from time to time, a droplet mutates into a better-suited one and passes this information on to the next generation. If we reach this ambitious goal, we have produced a synthetic system capable of Darwinian evolution.
The results will mark a massive step forwards in our understanding of life. It also sheds new light on the molecular mechanisms that may have played a role in the origin of life. It will have implications for the biophysics community, too, as our findings help understand how additives to droplets affect their properties, just like in membraneless organelles.
But, most excitingly, SynLife will change how we think of material design by introducing Darwinian evolution as a manufacturing tool.
Champ scientifique
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régime de financement
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsInstitution d’accueil
80333 Muenchen
Allemagne