‘Beautiful blobs’: synthetic life a step closer as scientists make cells using lab-made DNA
Researchers claim they are closer to creating life from scratch after building tiny, quivering blobs that use lab-made DNA to feed, grow and multiply in
Researchers claim they are closer to creating life from scratch after building tiny, quivering blobs that use lab-made DNA to feed, grow and multiply in a dish. The synthetic cells were made from chemical compounds and are believed to be the first to demonstrate the complete cell cycle of growth, genetic replication and splitting to produce the next generation. The work raises the prospect of artificial organisms that are designed and built to churn out drugs, foods, fuels and other materials. But it may also shed light on the profound question of how particular assemblies of inanimate matter cross a threshold to become life. Dr Kate Adamala, who led the research at the University of Minnesota, said: “It is not as robust, as fast, or as good at most of its functions as a natural cell, but it is proof of principle that molecules can reconstitute behaviours that up until now we only associated with natural living cells. If we want to be able to engineer biology, we really have to understand exactly the blueprint, every component of it, so we know what we’re changing.” Scientists have tried to make synthetic life for decades. In 2010, Craig Venter, the late genetics pioneer, built an organism based on a bacterium that causes mastitis in goats.
Others have achieved similar feats. Instead of modifying natural cells, Adamala’s team built SpudCells from the bottom up to ensure that every component was known and understood. They started with tiny water-filled spheres called liposomes which are a few thousandths of a millimetre wide and added a small amount of synthetic DNA to provide basic functions. Adamala calls them SpudCells to evoke Sputnik and the dawn of the space age, but it’s not the only reason. “I’m Polish,” she said. “I’m mostly made of potatoes.” View image in fullscreen The SpudCell assembled from non-living chemical components undergoing division. Photograph: Kate Adamala / Adamala Lab SpudCells work only in a liquid that is brimming with vital chemicals such as ATP, the main energy-carrying molecule that living cells manufacture from nutrients. To grow, SpudCells fuse with minuscule “feeder” liposomes in the liquid. These contain molecules, enzymes and microscopic structures called ribosomes the SpudCells need to make proteins. The SpudCell’s genome carries other instructions to copy its genome and divide. To mimic the evolutionary concept of survival of the fittest, the researchers showed how SpudCells with a genetic growth advantage spread through the population, outcompeting original SpudCells. Prof Tom Ellis, at Imperial College London, said the work was probably the field’s “biggest breakthrough in recent times”.
The BriefWire