Projet ProtoMet (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Doctoral Networks
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Understanding how prebiotic chemistry gave rise to life as we know it represents one of the greatest enduring mysteries. The complete absence of a historical record requires the collaboration of scientists from different disciplines with access to advanced tools in order to make any meaningful progress. Here, we plan to exploit this tremendous challenge to train a new generation of scientists to think big, but also to work methodically and logically alongside colleagues from academia and industry. Eight Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) will be recruited to work in laboratories with expertise in systems chemistry, synthetic biology, microfluidics, and science philosophy to develop together a reconstituted protometabolism within compartments consisting of coacervates, vesicles, coacervate containing vesicles, and compartments etched into microfluidic chips. The underlying protometabolism will be composed of triose glycolysis and a reverse citric acid cycle and will be regulated by (metallo)peptide catalysts. Importantly, the protometabolism will support the maintenance of the compartment that houses the protocell. The ESRs that primarily focus on the construction of compartments that mimic protocellular structures will gain firsthand experience in how their formulations could be exploited as drug delivery vehicles through secondments at partner organizations. Similarly, the ESRs that develop (metallo)peptide catalysts will apply their newfound skills to the development of drug molecules through a secondment at a company that specializes in metallodrug formulations. Ultimately, by becoming experts in elucidating the chemical underpinnings of all known living cells, the ESRs will be extremely well positioned to enter a wide variety of research fields from synthetic biology to medicinal chemistry in either industry or academia.

Mots clés : origins of life, prebiotic chemistry, metallopeptide, protocell

Participants :
- University of Trento (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 261499.68 €
- Nanovex biotechnologies sl (Espagne) — Partner, organization partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Elvesys (France) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 506857.1 €
- University of the Basque Country (Espagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 250904.88 €
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 281276.64 €
- Cherry Biotech (France) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 42746.98 €
- Université de Strasbourg (France) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 274802.04 €
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 303172.56 €
- Kutxagestion zerbitzuak s.l. (Espagne) — Partner, organization partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Max Planck Society (Allemagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 252788.4 €
- Metallopharm llc (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €