SynDiv - Synthetic Biology of the Bacterial Cell Division

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Petra Schwille
• Subject Area: Biophysics
• Term: from 2010 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 165233936

This collaborative European project is aimed at the design of new biological, biophysical and nanotechnological strategies how to manipulate and thereby investigate key steps in bacterial cell division in living bacteria, and to reconstitute these mechanisms in a minimal system based on liposomes. The final goals are twofold: first, better understanding of the relevance of topological constraints on cell division and proliferation, and second, design of an evolvable minimal cell system comprising the essential components for controlled encapsulation and replication of genetic material, using the key players of the bacterial cell division machinery (divisome). Our team is highly complementary, consisting of: 1) an expert in E.coli cell biology, particularly the chromosome organization and segregation in the living cell (Sherratt, United Kingdom), 2) a biophysicist with a strong background of cell and membrane biophysics, employing giant vesicles as toolboxes for bottom-up biology (Schwille, Germany), and 3) a nanotechnologist who developed new concepts for bacterial shape and growth control on micro- and nanofluidic structures (Dekker, The Netherlands). By bringing together these expertises, we are convinced that we can build a powerful incubator for novel technology-driven synthetic biology on the basis of bacterial systems in Europe.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants