They create the world’s first synthetic cell with a complete life cycle

This is indicated by the University of Minnesota (USA), one of those participating in the research, which has not yet been published in any scientific journal, within the project. SpudCell.

The basic processes carried out by a living organism are, among others, the use of energy, growth, development and reproduction.

All of them can be reproduced in isolation in a laboratory, but the idea of ​​a completely synthetic biological organism that develops these processes belonged to science fiction, the university center said in a statement.

The team has reproduced in chemistry “what was previously only possible in biology: the complete set of behaviors of a cell. This shows that the most fundamental functions of life, such as growth and replication, do not need a mysterious magical spark.”, highlighted Kate Adamala, one of the signatories of the text.

It is spudcell They reproduce the life cycle of a biological cell, from selection, genome replication and growth to the acquisition of resources through feeding.

In addition, it carries out cell division without a cytoskeleton, which is what natural cells use for this function, but in this case it is replaced by proteins, which gather on the surface of the membrane until it breaks.

The team managed, through genetic modification, for these synthetic cells to grow faster and produce more offspring, highlighted the University of Minnesota.

After five generations, the faster-growing variant had surpassed the original, and under nutrient-poor conditions the advantage increased, demonstrating that selection and competition were operating in a fully synthetic chemical system.

Another characteristic is that it has a very small artificial genome, 90,000 base pairs, compared to the 3 billion base pairs in the human genome and well below the 113,000 base pairs that biologists considered essential for a living cell.

The term base pair refers to the chemical units or blocks that build DNA chains. A pair creates a pair that form a segment of DNA.

Additionally, instead of a single chromosome, the genome is divided into seven independent DNA plasmids, a modular structure that allows the team to program various functions of the cell independently.

The researchers believe that, as they progress in their development, SpudCell and their successors will be able to perform increasingly complex functions and behaviors.

Cells created from scratch could carry out molecular transformations that industrial chemistry is not capable of carrying out and revolutionize molecular medicine, among other disciplines.creating precise therapeutic molecules and drugs.

This work is just the beginning, “we are showing that it is possible to engineer the basic functions of the cell. To fully realize the potential of this technology and make it robust and practical, we need a joint international effort,” added Adamala.

For this reason, the team is launching Biotic, a non-profit, public interest research organization dedicated to the development of chemically and functionally defined synthetic cells, with the mission of “promoting and responsibly managing fundamental advances in bioengineering,” explains its website.

There is still much work to be done to turn the construction of individual spudcells into a true engineering production line; Furthermore, the different laboratories do not have common standards for a functional cell, the researchers acknowledge.