Model system mimicking the cell envelope of archaea
- Nanowissenschaften und -technologie
Abstract
Archaea are one of the oldest life-forms existing on Earth. These unicellular organisms are often adapted to extreme habitats. Since the cell envelope of many archaea consists only of a very thin layer of fat (lipid membrane), into which an outermost crystalline protein layer is anchored, the question arises how Nature can accomplish this high resistance to extreme environmental conditions. The present project will study the reassembly of cell envelopes of archaea using previously isolated biological components, i.e., lipids and proteins. It aims to clarify the question how the self-organization of etherlipids and surface layer proteins proceeds in detail and which anchoring strategies are available for the formation of an artificial cell membrane. In addition, the question is addressed which properties of the biomolecules themselves and their assembly into macroscopic cell envelopes cause this amazing resistance to the extreme habitat conditions. Hence, selected archaea strains will be bred in the bioreactor and subsequently the basic building blocks will be isolated from the biomass. In addition, the surface layer proteins can also be genetically produced by host cells. This is a new approach, which has previously not attempted by another research group. By the application of Nature’s construction principle, the cell envelope structure of archaea will be reconstructed layer by layer. Each step will be tracked and analyzed using modern microscopial and surfaces-sensitive techniques. The results of this project will provide valuable insights into the isolation and in particular the self-assembly of cell envelope components. This knowledge can be applied to produce surface coatings with very specific properties. Further application are biomimetic membrane systems for studying the cell walls of archaea. The latter may also serve as model systems into which membrane-active peptides and membrane proteins can be incorporated and systematically investigated.
- Archaeal cell envelope structure
- Biomimetics and artificial bioarchitectures
- Archaeal S-layer proteins and etherlipids
- Self-assembly of archaeal S-layer proteins
- Nanobiotechnology
Project staff
Bernhard Schuster
Ao.Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Bernhard Schuster
bernhard.schuster@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-80436
Project Leader
01.10.2016 - 30.09.2021
BOKU partners
External partners
University of Vienna
none
partner