Research Projects

Recent attempts to mimic enzyme catalysis using simple, prebiotically relevant peptides have been successful in enhancing various reactions. However, the on-demand, temporal or spatial regulation of such processes by external triggers remains a great challenge. Light irradiation is an ideal trigger for regulating molecular functionality, since it can be precisely manipulated in time and space, and because most reaction mediums do not react to light.

In the origin of life, the transition from small building blocks to complex, organised assemblies set the stage for the emergence of biological systems. These supramolecular structures bridge the gap between simple organic molecules and the complex, organised systems that characterise living systems.

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) or coacervation is a key process to regulate self-assembly of proteins and other molecules within living cells. LLPS occurs within macromolecular solutions generating a liquid concentrated phase that is separated out of solution somewhat similar to the way oil de-mixes from water.

Archaea are established as a separate branch in the tree of life next to bacteria. Eukaryotes are no longer considered a distinct and separate branch, but instead they are considered to be recent members of the archaeal branch. While the effect of controlled and synthetic 3D culture environments on a range of eurkaryotic cell types are widely recognized and can be harnessed to learn about and steer specific cell behaviours, application of this concept in archaea is practically non-existent.

Current theory holds that, during the early stages of chemical evolution, microscopic compartments called protocells played a critical role, because they were able to sequester and concentrate small molecules that would react together, to eventually yield the building blocks of life. 

The complex problem of the origin of life can be approached from different angles and scientific disciplines: while chemists may attempt to extrapolate from their understanding of self-organization processes in organochemical networks towards the first living systems, biologists may reason ‘from hindsight’, based on their knowledge of extant life and their reconstruction of the most plausible pathways that led to its emergence.

ESCRT-III proteins form supramolecular structures that are essential for membrane remodelling processes across the tree of life. In archaea and eukaryotes, the ESCRT-III proteins assemble into polymers that cut membrane tubes together with Vps4, an AAA–ATPase.

Oceanic islands harbor a disproportional fraction of Earth’s biodiversity, but are also host to many species that are threatened with extinction. Advantages of isolation are reduced competition, predation and parasitism, availability of new ecological niches, and opportunity for unique traits (that might become very advantageous in the future) to become fixed due to genetic drift. That is, an isolated system is a cradle for new forms of life.

One of the key features of life is the presence of its essential molecules such as amino acids, proteins, sugars and DNA as one mirror image form. These single handed chiral (from Greek χειρ (kheir), “hand”) structures are considered crucial for the evolution of life on the earth; a phenomenon called homochirality.

The cytoplasm of cells is a highly crowded environment and it is intriguing to see how biomolecular processes still can work in such an environment. Given that cells constantly convert energy, the cytoplasm has also been described as ‘active matter’.