The overarching mission of ComeInCell (short for: “Condensates at Membrane Scaffolds – Integrated Systems as Synthetic Cell Compartments”) is to develop a synthetic minimal cell. The researchers, who come from seven EU countries, Israel and the United Kingdom, are aiming to assemble a living cell from the bottom up from non-living building blocks. The researchers involved expect the process to bring novel insights into the functionality of cells, which are the basis of all life.
ComeInCell focuses specifically on functional membrane structures and biomolecular condensates. Membranes form the boundary layer that surrounds a cell, thereby separating the interior of the cell from its surroundings. Biomolecular condensates represent the interior/content of a cell, a very crowded space, in which all kinds of reactions take place. The doctoral researchers in the various working groups will examine a wide variety of aspects within the framework of the project.
Dr Marten Exterkate, leader of the junior research group “Membrane Biogenesis and Lipidomics” at HHU, heads the research area “Biomolecular condensate interactions with the membrane in a dynamic membrane system” in ComeInCell. He says: “I am concentrating on one of the key features of life: self-reproduction, which includes growth and subsequent division of the membrane boundary layer.” The topic is related to Exterkate’s earlier work on enzymatic cascades, in which simple building blocks are converted into a variety of lipids, which form the scaffold of membranes. “Together with my doctoral student, I will primarily study the influence of biomolecular condensates on the enzymes that are involved in lipid synthesis in the new project, thereby obtaining new insights into this process in a crowded, more realistic, synthetic cell,” Exterkate adds.
The doctoral student will start at HHU in spring 2025, but they will not only conduct research in Düsseldorf. The doctoral network includes an exchange programme, in which the doctoral students will go to other institutes participating in the consortium to learn specific techniques, which are crucial for the project.
Exterkate: “In my project, there will be two so-called secondments. The first will be at Radboud University in Nijmegen in the Netherlands, where the student will learn how to work with biomolecular condensates. The second will be at the Catholic University in Leuven in Belgium, where the student will learn to work with model membranes that have the size of living cells.” Furthermore, there will be a workshop with the renowned scientific journal “Nature Communications”.
ComeInCell research project
The Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam is coordinating the doctoral network, which comprises 14 working groups from 13 institutions in eight countries: Germany, France, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain and the United Kingdom. It also includes further associated partners from research and industry.
The project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe 1.2 research and innovation programme under the so-called Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and co-funded by the UK Guarantee Scheme. The funding totals four million euros over the period from 2024 – 2028.
