Projects

Synthetic biology is the forward engineering of biological systems using an ever-expanding list of biological functional modules. It aims at understanding by building biological systems through rational design. We use its concepts and tools to study photosynthesis in the model green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to better understand the regulation and limitations of photosynthetic carbon fixation. Our first approach is the redesign of pathways to control in vivo the amount of each enzyme. The second project (paleo-biochemistry) aims at using Evolution as a resource (ancestral sequences inference and resurrection, directed evolution) to explore novel evolutionary paths of carbon fixation. We also aim at implementing in vivo new metabolic pathways (de novo design) to expand photosynthetic capacities. Finally, we develop the standardized tools (MoClo, logic gates) necessary to build these designs.

The storage of digital data is a major challenge in our modern societies. Current digital media stored in data centers are fragile, bulky and energy-intensive. The ongoing digital transformation of our societies requires a major disruption of our digital storage technologies. DNA data storage is an emerging technology that has the advantage of being stable for thousands of years, extremely compact and energy-efficient. Our team is developing innovative concepts of DNA data storage based on domestication of biological systems