
Research of the Mutschler Group
Engineering of genetic systems for synthetic living systems.
Our contribution to the MaxSynBio mission includes
- The generation semi-synthetic genetic systems with a bottom-up approach using reconstituted protein and nucleic acid components.
- Strategies to enhance the autonomy and lifetime of biomimetic systems by encoding and evolving crucial parts of biosynthetic pathways on synthetic genomes.
- The development of experimental approaches that enable the adaption of synthetic genomes to selective pressures via Darwinian Evolution.
Another important focus of our research group is to gain a better understanding of the role of different prebiotic environments to support the emergence of life de novo. In particular, we are interested in plausible experimental scenarios that include RNA-enzymes (ribozymes), peptides, simple compartments and out-of-equilibrium environments and result in the formation of primitive protocells with life-like properties.

© Hannes Mutschler