Obiettivo An immensely valuable asset to the field of synthetic biology would be a means to genetically endow magnetism to living organisms, which is still an unsolved challenge due to the lack of appropriate tools. In contrast, biomagnetism is innate to magnetotactic bacteria, mud-dwelling microbes which as geomagnetic sensors biomineralize iron nanocrystals with exceptional properties, the magnetosomes. However, transplantation of magnetosome biosynthesis has remained unachieved for many years, owing to its complexity and lack of knowledge of genetic determinants. Recently, my lab discovered relevant biosynthetic gene clusters and for the first time succeeded in expressing them in a foreign bacterium. Inspired by this major breakthrough, I now propose a step change approach for endogenous magnetization of diverse organisms based on bacterial magnetosome biosynthesis. By combining systematic genetic reduction with bottom-up redesign we will first minimize the pathway to make it universally portable. We will then reprogram E. coli into a chassis for plug-in expression of diverse magnetosome gene sets. By harnessing determinants of structurally diverse magnetosomes from various bacteria, we will reconfigure the pathway for mix-and-match generation of designer nanoparticles with tuned magnetic properties. Finally, we will attempt to reconstitute key parts of magnetosome formation in eukaryotic hosts by using yeast mitochondria as a universal model. The overall aim is to generate a versatile synthetic toolkit for genetic magnetization of different organisms. This would represent a quantum leap with tremendous impact on various fields of biomedical research and biotechnology. It might be exploited for bioproduction of tailored magnetic nanomaterials with novel and tunable properties. It could be further utilized to generate intracellular labels, tracers and actuators for magnetic manipulation and analysis of cells and organisms in the emerging field of magnetogenetics. Campo scientifico natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriologynatural sciencesbiological sciencessynthetic biologymedical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologygenetic engineeringengineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materialsnanocrystalsmedical and health sciencesclinical medicinetransplantation Parole chiave magnetosomes magnetotactic bacteria magnetic nanoparticles biomineralization Programma(i) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Argomento(i) ERC-ADG-2015 - ERC Advanced Grant Invito a presentare proposte ERC-2015-AdG Vedi altri progetti per questo bando Meccanismo di finanziamento ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant Istituzione ospitante UNIVERSITAT BAYREUTH Contribution nette de l'UE € 2 291 875,00 Indirizzo UNIVERSITATSSTRASSE 30 95447 Bayreuth Germania Mostra sulla mappa Regione Bayern Oberfranken Bayreuth, Kreisfreie Stadt Tipo di attività Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Collegamenti Contatta l’organizzazione Opens in new window Sito web Opens in new window Partecipazione a programmi di R&I dell'UE Opens in new window Rete di collaborazione HORIZON Opens in new window Costo totale € 2 291 875,00 Beneficiari (1) Classifica in ordine alfabetico Classifica per Contributo netto dell'UE Espandi tutto Riduci tutto UNIVERSITAT BAYREUTH Germania Contribution nette de l'UE € 2 291 875,00 Indirizzo UNIVERSITATSSTRASSE 30 95447 Bayreuth Mostra sulla mappa Regione Bayern Oberfranken Bayreuth, Kreisfreie Stadt Tipo di attività Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Collegamenti Contatta l’organizzazione Opens in new window Sito web Opens in new window Partecipazione a programmi di R&I dell'UE Opens in new window Rete di collaborazione HORIZON Opens in new window Costo totale € 2 291 875,00