Protein design ‘construction kit’ gets ERC funds
A biochemist from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Germany has received a €2m Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council to further develop new ideas regarding protein design.
Birte Höcker is currently studying the evolution of proteins and uses her knowledge to construct new molecules. Höcker’s research has already demonstrated the diversity of proteins formed from smaller fragments and her latest study, entitled ‘Protein Lego’, focuses on recombining and using these parts with a special ‘construction kit’.
Speaking about the upcoming project, the biochemist said: “With this project application, we follow a completely new approach to protein design. We identify stable fragments of well known protein structures, recombine them, and … see new complex and functional proteins coming to life.
“The activity of proteins makes life possible. I am particularly interested in all the little details of their structures – how they differ from each other and why they fold the way they do,” Höcker added.
The deeper understanding of protein structures could help to build tailormade proteins for use in biotechnology, medicine and synthetic biology. Protein design has a broad application range e.g. creating new enzymes for manufacturing fine chemicals or degrading toxic material, as well as new protein based drugs or even as biosensors as tools in basic research.
