Engineering biological signaling pathways using synthetic cells (SIGSYNCELL)

面对21世纪与气候、能源和健康有关的挑战，需要开发新的生物技术。生物学的合成方法为活细胞效率低下或不受欢迎的应用提供了机会。然而，“只有细胞才能制造细胞”至今仍是一个无可辩驳的基本事实，构建从头开始的生命系统代表了生物技术的新前沿。多年来，IT行业开发了高度复杂和集成的微系统，其基础是晶体管等构建模块以及电动力学和量子物理学的基本原理。为了发展下一个世纪的生物技术，生物学的类比仍然必须解开。我们的目标是制造出与环境动态互动的合成细胞的类生命系统。我们将培养博士生开发积木工具箱，基于软微区室，分子转运蛋白，DNA纳米技术，光学技术和微技术，用于构建和整合大量相互作用的合成细胞。因为它们是从头开始构建的，具有高水平的功能表征和控制，这些细胞将允许解开复杂生命系统的基本原理，同时成为新型生物技术的基础。这将为合成细胞的应用铺平道路，以满足世纪在能量收集、生物质和原材料转化、生物修复和治疗方面的迫切需求。我们的网络将基于研究和创新的跨学科性，并将培养下一代独立和负责任的科学家，通过建立基础知识和可持续创新来应对紧迫的全球挑战。

Facing the challenges of the 21st century related to climate, energy and health requires the development of new biotechnologies. Synthetic approaches to biology represent an opportunity for applications where living cells are inefficient or undesired. Yet, 'Only cells can make cells' remains to date an unrefutable fundamental reality and constructing de novo living systems represents the new frontier of biotechnology. The IT industry developed over the years highly complex and integrated microsystems, based on building blocks such as the transistor and fundamental principles of electrodynamics and quantum physics. The analogon for biology must still be unraveled to develop the biotechnologies of the next century. Our aim is to produce life-like systems of synthetic cells which dynamically interact with their environment. We will train Doctoral Candidates to develop a toolbox of building blocks, based upon soft microcompartments, molecular transporters, DNA nanotechnologies, optical technologies and microtechnologies, for the construction and integration of large populations of interacting synthetic cells. Because they are built from scratch with a high-level of functional characterization and control, these cells will allow to unravel fundamental principles of complex living systems, and, at the same time, become form the basis of a new type of biotechnology. This will pave the way for applications of synthetic cells to address the pressing needs of the 21st century, in energy harvesting, biomass and raw matter transformation, bio-remediation and therapeutics. Our network will be based upon interdisciplinarity in research and innovation, and will train the next generation of independent and responsible scientists to address pressing global challenges through the build up of fundamental knowledge and sustainable innovations.