Microbial Metabolism

We live on a microbial planet in which invisible microbes dictate the fate of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles.
The aim of our laboratory is to decipher the molecular basis of their metabolisms through a methodology combining microbial physiology, protein biochemistry, enzymology, and structural biology. The key concept of our approach is to rely on the source microbes to characterise their native enzymes under anaerobic conditions rather than using artificial recombinant expression. We then take advantage of crystallisation to ultimately isolate enzymes and perform their molecular dissections. By elucidating their reaction mechanisms, we gain insight into the molecular principles underlying microbial mineral transformation and biological matter decomposition, while providing new blueprints for chemists.

We have two funded projects representing the core of our research:
– The ERC Consolidator grant “EnLightEn” is dedicated to enlightening the metabolic secrets of anaerobic microbial key players in the carbon cycle.
– The ANR-SNSF grant “NITRO-GENESE” to decipher the secrets of biological N2-fixation.

All pictures presented on the following webpages are under MicroMet´s copyright and cannot be shared/reused. Many illustrations have been produced by Benjamin Large.