ERC Starting Grant · 2024
Lipid Diversity at the Onset of Life
The origin of cell membranes is a major unresolved issue in evolution. Evolutionary biology points to the existence of primitive cells with compositionally diverse membranes that could actively participate in genetic and metabolic processes. However, the assumption that such lipid diversity is dependent upon enzymatic chemistry has generated models comprising compositionally minimal membranes (binary or ternary mixtures of short-chain fatty or phosphatidic acids) that passively host genetic or metabolic processes. LipDive seeks to reconcile biology and chemistry by challenging the critical limiting assumption that lipid diversity cannot be achieved through non-enzymatic, prebiotic…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.