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Our work

The copying, or replication, of DNA is one of the central processes that take place in all living organisms. In our group, we aim at understanding the molecular processes that underlie DNA and RNA replication, with the particular goal of gaining spatiotemporal insight into their dynamics. More concretely, we are interested in understanding how individual molecules interact in space and time, so as to jointly perform an otherwise extremely efficient and accurate task.

Our approach combines the use of cutting-edge single-molecule biophysics tools, which allow us to visualize and track multiple and diverse single molecules simultaneously, with in-house purified components and advanced biochemical assays. Single-molecule techniques provide a complementary approach to bulk biochemistry, and address relevant questions regarding the dynamics of DNA/RNA replication that cannot be obtained otherwise, thereby contributing to the advancement of the field of replication.

These high-resolution techniques, which include single-molecule fluorescence and single-molecule force spectroscopy (magnetic and optical tweezers), or a combination of both, monitor individual biochemical processes under physiological conditions in real time.

While the primary aim of our research is to give fundamental mechanistic insight into different aspects of replication, also biomedically relevant clues can be obtained using our approaches. For instance, we can study how mutations in a viral genome are triggered by drug compounds or how eukaryotic genomes deal with not only replication of the genome but also with the replication of epigenetic information.