Jerome Chalmeau

Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Minnesota, 2009-present

My main interest is the development of a viable method for expressing and studying trans-membrane proteins, a key component of cells, in vitro. More than 30% of our genes are encoding for trans-membrane proteins, which are playing a key role as interface between the inner cell and the outer world. They let nutriments go inside the cell, and remove trash. Without these proteins, cells won't be able to interact with their direct environment. Despite their importance, studying their physical properties in vitro remains challenging, due to their localization in the cell's membrane. Their purification, re-assembly and study varie from one to one. The recent development of a cell free expression system renders possible an in vitro production of these proteins, in a closed native environment. it opens a large spectrum of physical studies, and possible applications. As a proof of concept, I have been interested in different trans-membrane proteins assembly, as for example the flagellum nanomotor found in bacteria, the water permease AqpZ, or more recently the lacY, a permease for lactose. The production and study of these proteins or assembly of proteins represent a critical step for the long term project of assemblying complex system in order to built an artificial cell.