Overview
‘Omnis cellula e cellula’, (‘Only cells make cells.)’
Rudolph Virchow – 1855
From the fight between creationist and evolutionist in the XIXth century, it is to be concluded that life forms can not spontaneously emerge from non-living matter: all living forms – as we know them – are the offspring of past living forms. And interestingly, even in the most advanced up-to-date demonstration of the creation of living minimal cells from the JCVI laboratory, the construction of a cell bearing an artificial genome requires a transplant in a micro-compartment obtained by overwriting the genetic information of a living cell. So in this context, to date, we still need a cell to make cells.
Yet – at one point in time – there has been a transition from non-living forms to living forms, meaning that a living cell has emerged or evolved from a non-living cell.
Can we go beyond ‘only cells make cells’?
We currently dissect cells in such a high-level of details that we will at one point be able to determine the minimal conditions – both in terms of principles and materials – for the emergence of life. And thereby construction living systems de novo will become both accessible and useful. We will put this question at the center of our research network with the fundamental question: What does it take to construct de novo a living cell?
We will address this question through an interdisciplinary network of researchers on the campus. The ingredients that we propose to dissect, understand, assemble and integrate here in miniaturized systems are therefore:
- Scaffolds and compartments
- Machineries to prevent decay
- Chemical supply machineries
- Energy supply for biochemical transformations
- Genome, genetic information and their decoding machineries
Project 1
Whole genome transplantation: a unique way towards understanding fundamental principles of life and designing new biological systems
Principal Investigators
Carole Lartigue-Prat
Yaser Hashem
Location
INRAe – BFP
IECB – ARNA
Project 2
Bio-inspired catalysis in aqueous droplets: towards a new chemistry of life
Principal Investigators
Valérie Desvergnes
Nicolas Martin
Location
ARNA
CRPP
Project 3
Responsive lipopolypeptides to control cell membrane permeation
Principal Investigators
Jeanne Leblond-Chain
Colin Bonduelle
Location
ARNA
LCPO
Project 4
Development of bioenergetic hybrid synthetic cells
Principal Investigators
Stéphane Arbault
Anne Devin
Location
CBMN
BFP