19-BBSRC-NSF/BIO

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The goal of this collaborative project is to advance our fundamental understanding of membrane protein functions in live cells using a cutting-edge sensor technology developed in Vollmer's lab (Exeter University, UK) applied to genetically programmed synthetic cells developed in the Noireaux' lab (University of Minnesota, USA). The bottom-up construction of synthetic cells that emulate specific biological functions holds strong promises as potential solutions to societal problems related to human health and the environment. While engineering functional minimal cells could be achieved in the near future, fundamental approaches to synthetic cells are also needed to expand our engineering capabilities. A serious limitation in the current state-of-the-art is the lack of basic knowledge of how synthetic cells with active membrane functions can be robustly developed and characterized. Integrating membrane functions into synthetic cells requires a quantitative understanding of basic aspects of membrane-protein interactions and dynamics. This analysis is optimal when it is performed with non-invasive techniques directly in a minimal cell setting where membrane proteins are dynamically synthesized and functionally inserted into the lipid bilayer, as proposed in this project. By placing a state-of-the art single molecule visualisation technique right next to a dynamically active synthetic cell, this collaboration will investigate how nature assembles molecular nanomachines made of proteins. These nanomachines take on important function in living systems such as catalysis, cell signalling, and they give the cell its shape and structure.