Oxford Nanopore sequencing: a way to explore life's origin | LC 25

Biography

David W. Deamer is an American biologist and Research Professor of Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz. David has made significant contributions to the field of membrane biophysics. His work led to a novel method of DNA sequencing and a more complete understanding of the role of membranes in the origin of life.

Abstract

In future years, it seems likely that someone will claim they have discovered a process that allows a mixture of simple molecules to assemble into structures and systems with the fundamental properties of life. A useful exercise for researchers is to think about what those properties might be and then design experiments to test ideas about how those properties could emerge on the early Earth and other habitable planets. A variety of polymers play key roles in living systems, and we now have powerful analytical tools to analyze their structure and functions. One of these tools is nanopore sequencing, which has the unique ability to sequence not just fragments from a purified source of DNA but also to sequence individual molecules in mixed populations. I will describe how we are using nanopore sequencing to explore processes by which nucleic acids could have emerged on the early Earth four billion years ago, before life began.