Directed evolution of ancestral bacterial flagellar motors. This project aims to produce new knowledge concerning the adaptation of bacterial species to wide environmental changes. The bacterial flagellar motor (BFM) is a motor 40 nanometers in diameter that builds itself into bacterial membranes, rotates five times faster than a Formula One engine, and switches directions in milliseconds. . This project will combine ancestral reconstruction of ancient motor components with protein engineering t ....Directed evolution of ancestral bacterial flagellar motors. This project aims to produce new knowledge concerning the adaptation of bacterial species to wide environmental changes. The bacterial flagellar motor (BFM) is a motor 40 nanometers in diameter that builds itself into bacterial membranes, rotates five times faster than a Formula One engine, and switches directions in milliseconds. . This project will combine ancestral reconstruction of ancient motor components with protein engineering to understand how the different ion channels that power the BFM in different species are selective for different positive ions. It will inspire and inform future manufacturing in bionanotechnology.Read moreRead less
Rerunning the evolution of an ancient bacterial propeller. This project aims to measure how the propeller which drives bacterial swimming originated and then evolved. This project expects to generate new knowledge in molecular evolution using interdisciplinary techniques in synthetic biology and biophysics to resurrect ancient proteins and test how they can be directed to evolve in a contemporary host. Expected outcomes include the development of new types of flagellar motor for applied uses in ....Rerunning the evolution of an ancient bacterial propeller. This project aims to measure how the propeller which drives bacterial swimming originated and then evolved. This project expects to generate new knowledge in molecular evolution using interdisciplinary techniques in synthetic biology and biophysics to resurrect ancient proteins and test how they can be directed to evolve in a contemporary host. Expected outcomes include the development of new types of flagellar motor for applied uses in synbio and microfluidics, and new methods to resurrect ancient proteins and evolve their function for purpose. This should provide significant benefits by delivering a de novo molecular motor for custom applications and galvanise public interest in how this iconic molecular complex originated and evolved.Read moreRead less