THEME 4: MARINE BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES - BIOTECHNOLOGY

Archaeal hyperthermophiles are marine microorganisms capable of living and replicating in environments rich in heavy metals, offering neither light nor oxygen and reaching temperatures exceeding 80°. For biologists and geneticists, these microorganisms provide an excellent model for studying the mechanics of DNA repair as their DNA sustains serious damage in the extreme conditions imposed by their environment.

Whilst these microorganisms have been around for almost a billion years, they have been of interest to scientists since the end of the 1970s when exploration of their habitat around hydrothermal springs began.

Today these microorganisms open up huge potential for fundamental genetics research as well as the possibility of perfecting new biotechnological applications. One of these archaeons, Pyrococcus abyssi, is at the heart of the ARCHAEAL DNA REPAIR project. A prokaryote microorganism with no membrane-bonded nucleus, it is no larger than a micrometer. Pyrococcus abyssi shares a certain number of characteristics with eukaryotes and bacteria whose comparative study will enable advances in understanding the origins of DNA and the proteins involved in DNA replication and repair.

Recognised by the Pôle Mer Bretagne, ARCHAEAL DNA REPAIR has secured funding from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (French National Research Agency).

ARCHAEAL DNA REPAIR PROJECT PARTNERS

Research centres

• Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, Université Paris XI, (University of Paris XI, Institute of Genetics and Microbiology), CNRS, Orsay,

• Ifremer, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes (French Marine Research Institute, Microbiology of Extreme Environments Lab), Brest,

• Station Biologique de Roscoff, Laboratoire Végétaux Marins et Biomolécules (Roscoff Biological Research Station, Marine Plants and Biomolecules Lab).

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