Project description
Investigating the protein origins of compartmentalisation in eukaryotes
Eukaryotic cells have membrane-bound organelles including the nucleus and mitochondria whereas prokaryotic cells do not. Accumulating evidence supports the hypothesis that the evolution of the first eukaryotic cells occurred by a merger between a cell intermediate between bacteria and eukaryotes (archaeal cell) and one or more bacterial endosymbionts. Building on their work pointing to the Asgard archaea as the original host lineage, the ERC-funded DARK-ROOTS project aims to shed light on the early stages of eukaryogenesis. The team plans to use AI-guided structural genomics to uncover new eukaryotic signature proteins in Asgard archaea and trace their evolution, focusing on similar proteins in eukaryotes important to their compartmentalisation.
Objective
The origin of the eukaryotic cell, with its complex and compartmentalized features, represents a prime hallmark in the evolution of life on Earth. Yet, important details underpinning the emergence of cellular complexity of eukaryotic cells remain thus far unresolved. Current views support evolutionary scenarios in which the first eukaryotic evolved via a merger between an archaeal host cell and one or more bacterial endosymbionts. Recent phylogenomic work from my lab has shown that the archaeal host cell evolved from within the Asgard archaea, an archaeal clade uniquely displaying several eukaryote-like features. However, key aspects regarding the nature and biology of the archaeal host cell remain elusive, limiting our current understanding of the early stages of eukaryogenesis. In DARK-ROOTS, my team will capitalize upon our unique position and foundational results, and use complementary approaches to elucidate the emergence of complex cellular features during eukaryogenesis. Firstly, building on encouraging preliminary results, we will use an advanced anaerobic cultivation infrastructure to enrich diverse Asgard archaeal lineages. Next, we will use high-resolution and live microscopy approaches to study their cellular ultrastructures and cell biological properties. Furthermore, we will monetize on recent breakthroughs in structural biology and use AI-guided structural genomics to uncover new eukaryotic signature proteins in Asgard archaea. Finally, we will trace the evolution of Asgard archaeal proteins, focusing on homologs of proteins that give stature to the complex and compartmentalized nature in eukaryotic cells. Altogether, building on a rich foundation of preliminary results, my group will bring new pieces of the enigmatic eukaryogenesis puzzle to the table by elucidating how intracellular complexity arose during the prokaryote-to-eukaryote transition.
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.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesgenetics
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteins
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsmicroscopy
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Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsHost institution
6708 PB Wageningen
Netherlands