Internal lipid synthesis and vesicle growth as a step toward self-reproduction of the minimal cell

Murtas, Giovanni

doi:10.1007/s11693-009-9048-1

Cited by 32 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(48 reference statements)

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“…An attempt has been recently reported that features entrapping partially purified FAS inside liposomes (Murtas 2010) in the presence of fatty acid precursors (acetyl-CoA, malonyl-CoA, NADPH). This attempt was complicated by the very large size of FAS.…”

Section: Downloaded By [University College London] At 07:47 24 June mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Synthetic Plants

2016

Synthetic Biology Handbook

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Section: Downloaded By [University College London] At 07:47 24 June mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ENVIRONMENT platform developed by Mavelli and Ruiz-Mirazo (2007, 2010 enables stochastic simulation of vesicle systems capable of growing at the expense of externally supplied feedstock and it has been specifically designed to deal with micro-compartmentalised reactions.…”

Section: Role Of Mathematical Modelling In Synthetic Cell and Primitimentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthetic Plants

2016

Synthetic Biology Handbook

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“…Initial attempts in this direction have indeed been made, but with a limited success so far (Schmidli et al 1991;Kuruma et al 2009;Murtas 2010).…”

Section: Division Driven By Active Chemical Synthesis Of Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Divided we stand: splitting synthetic cells for their proliferation

Caspi

Dekker

2014

Syst Synth Biol

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With the recent dawn of synthetic biology, the old idea of man-made artificial life has gained renewed interest. In the context of a bottom-up approach, this entails the de novo construction of synthetic cells that can autonomously sustain themselves and proliferate. Reproduction of a synthetic cell involves the synthesis of its inner content, replication of its information module, and growth and division of its shell. Theoretical and experimental analysis of natural cells shows that, whereas the core synthesis machinery of the information module is highly conserved, a wide range of solutions have been realized in order to accomplish division. It is therefore to be expected that there are multiple ways to engineer division of synthetic cells. Here we survey the field and review potential routes that can be explored to accomplish the division of bottom-up designed synthetic cells. We cover a range of complexities from simple abiotic mechanisms involving splitting of lipid-membrane-encapsulated vesicles due to physical or chemical principles, to potential division mechanisms of synthetic cells that are based on prokaryotic division machineries.

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“…However, this ancestor had probably no stabilizing protein-based cell wall. In the second theory, primitive cell division would proceed through a lipid biosynthesis route (Murtas 2010), in analogy to a mechanism recently observed in wall-less forms of bacteria, called L forms (Leaver et al 2009;Allan et al 2009). These L form cells are known to bypass the canonical FtsZ-centered division system and to proliferate by increased fatty acid synthesis, which leads to spontaneous cell shape deformation and scission into smaller progeny cells (Fig.…”

Section: Division Mechanisms In Early Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alternatively, ion channels or acyl transporters could be incorporated in the vesicle membrane to facilitate the diffusion of lipid precursors. Like phospholipid synthesis, internal production of fatty acids by fatty acid synthetases (FAS) could be considered (Murtas 2009(Murtas , 2010. A point of caution is that the high concentration of Mg 2?…”

Section: The Lipid Biosynthesis Route For Compartment Divisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward the assembly of a minimal divisome

2014

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The construction of an irreducible minimal cell having all essential attributes of a living system is one of the biggest challenges facing synthetic biology. One ubiquitous task accomplished by any living systems is the division of the cell envelope. Hence, the assembly of an elementary, albeit sufficient, molecular machinery that supports compartment division, is a crucial step towards the realization of self-reproducing artificial cells. Looking backward to the molecular nature of possible ancestral, supposedly more rudimentary, cell division systems may help to identify a minimal divisome. In light of a possible evolutionary pathway of division mechanisms from simple lipid vesicles toward modern life, we define two approaches for recapitulating division in primitive cells: the membrane deforming protein route and the lipid biosynthesis route. Having identified possible proteins and working mechanisms participating in membrane shape alteration, we then discuss how they could be integrated into the construction framework of a programmable minimal cell relying on gene expression inside liposomes. The protein synthesis using recombinant elements (PURE) system, a reconstituted minimal gene expression system, is conceivably the most versatile synthesis platform. As a first step towards the de novo synthesis of a divisome, we showed that the N-BAR domain protein produced from its gene could assemble onto the outer surface of liposomes and sculpt the membrane into tubular structures. We finally discuss the remaining challenges for building up a self-reproducing minimal cell, in particular the coupling of the division machinery with volume expansion and genome replication.

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Internal lipid synthesis and vesicle growth as a step toward self-reproduction of the minimal cell

Cited by 32 publications

References 35 publications

Synthetic Plants

Synthetic Plants

Divided we stand: splitting synthetic cells for their proliferation

Toward the assembly of a minimal divisome

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