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Another step toward synthetic cells
Building functional synthetic cells from the bottom-up is an ongoing effort of scientists around the globe. Their use in studying cellular mechanisms in a highly controlled and pre-defined setting creates great value for understanding nature as well as developing new therapeutic approaches
Scientists are now able to take the next step towards synthetic cells
They introduced functional DNA-based cytoskeletons into cell-sized compartments. Cytoskeletons are essential components of each cell that control their shape, internal organization and other vital functions such as the transport of molecules between different parts of the cell. Upon incorporating the cytoskeletons into the synthetic droplets, the researchers also showed functionality, including the transport of molecules or assembly and disassembly upon certain triggers. The results were recently published in Nature Chemistry.
The cytoskeleton is a crucial component of each cell, and it is made up of various proteins. Beyond the basic function of giving the cell its shape, it is essential for many cellular processes such as cell division, intracellular transport of various molecules and motility in response to external signaling. Due to its importance in natural systems, being able to mimic its functionality in an artificial setup is an important step toward building and designing a synthetic cell. However, it comes with many challenges due to its diverse requirements, including stability as well as quick adaptability and reactivity to triggers
Researchers in the field of synthetic biology have previously used DNA nanotechnology to recreate cellular components such as DNA-based mimics of ion channels or cell-cell linkers. For this, they take advantage of the fact that DNA can be programmed or engineered to self-assemble into a pre-planned shape by complementary base-pairing.
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Q: Can scientists create DNA?Krishna:Yes! Of course! Artificial genetic material can be reliably created that not only interacts like its natural counterpart, but can even be ‘read’ by cells. Chemicals are chemicals whether they are used by Nature or human beings to create synthetic organic molecules of life’s matter.
At the very root of DNA’s structure are four letters, referring to nucleobases (or usually just called ‘bases’): A, C, G, and T. These are shorthand for adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. These four molecules are the ‘nitrogenous bases’ of nucleotides. These bases form pairs and lead to configurations that cause the classic DNA helical structure to develop.
Decades after the discovery of DNA and its implication in human genetics, in 2006, scientists developed artificial DNA bases, which have a novel bonding pattern. The artificial bases (called Z and P) bond similarly to how GC and AT (natural DNA bases) bond. In fact, using a method known as X-ray crystallography, researchers have observed that these artificial bases can be incorporated into natural strands of DNA and even show similar function to fully natural DNA bases when interacting with proteins inside of cells.
In 2014, researchers researchers announced the creation of a living cell that had two ‘foreign’ DNA building blocks in its genome. The team inserted the two into a bacterial cell, a strain of E. coli. When the cell reproduced, unwinding its double helix and reconstituting it in new cells, X and Y replicated as well, their chemical bond just as stable as the A-T and C-G pairings in DNA’s normal sequence. The leader of the Scripps research team, Floyd Romesberg, calls the organism “semi-synthetic.”
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