A DNA Segregation Module for Synthetic Cells

Tran MP, Chatterjee R, Dreher Y, Fichtler J, Jahnke K, Hilbert L, Zaburdaev V, Göpfrich K (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Small Wiley-VCH Verlag

DOI: 10.1002/smll.202202711

Abstract

The bottom-up construction of an artificial cell requires the realization of synthetic cell division. Significant progress has been made toward reliable compartment division, yet mechanisms to segregate the DNA-encoded informational content are still in their infancy. Herein, droplets of DNA Y-motifs are formed by liquid–liquid phase separation. DNA droplet segregation is obtained by cleaving the linking component between two populations of DNA Y-motifs. In addition to enzymatic cleavage, photolabile sites are introduced for spatio-temporally controlled DNA segregation in bulk as well as in cell-sized water-in-oil droplets and giant unilamellar lipid vesicles (GUVs). Notably, the segregation process is slower in confinement than in bulk. The ionic strength of the solution and the nucleobase sequences are employed to regulate the segregation dynamics. The experimental results are corroborated in a lattice-based theoretical model which mimics the interactions between the DNA Y-motif populations. Altogether, engineered DNA droplets, reconstituted in GUVs, can represent a strategy toward a DNA segregation module within bottom-up assembled synthetic cells.

Authors with CRIS profile

Rakesh Chatterjee Lehrstuhl für Mathematik in den Lebenswissenschaften Vasily Zaburdaev Lehrstuhl für Mathematik in den Lebenswissenschaften

Involved external institutions

Max-Planck-Institut für medizinische Forschung / Max Planck Institute for Medical Research DE Germany (DE) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Tran, M.P., Chatterjee, R., Dreher, Y., Fichtler, J., Jahnke, K., Hilbert, L.,... Göpfrich, K. (2022). A DNA Segregation Module for Synthetic Cells. Small. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smll.202202711

MLA:

Tran, Mai P., et al. "A DNA Segregation Module for Synthetic Cells." Small (2022).

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