Dr Antoine Hocher

I am interested in the constrains associated with using DNA as a carrier of genetic information. Beyond its sequence, DNA does not differ much between completely unrelated species. Hence proteins that interact with DNA often share similarities across the tree of life. This similarity is a fundamental driver of the inter-compatibility between genetics systems but is also a weakness: interfering with DNA binding protein is almost always detrimental. A spectacular example of this phenomenon are viral proteins that mimic DNA. By virtue of their surface and charge properties, these mimics can trick cells and inactivate DNA binding proteins. Often those molecular mimics are active against a broad range of organisms due to the conservation of DNA binding proteins.

I am driven by the idea of exploring natural diversity, to learn from existing systems and to engineer new types of DNA binding proteins and new types of DNA mimicking proteins. The Hocher group investigates these topics by combining computational biology, phylogenetics, molecular biology and directed evolution.