dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaProtocell Self-Reproduction in a Spatially Extended Metabolism-Vesicle System
| Authors | Javier Macia, Ricard V. Sole |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0511041 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0511041 |
Abstract
Cellular life requires the presence of a set of biochemical mechanisms in order to maintain a predictable process of growth and division. Several attempts have been made towards the building of minimal protocells from a top-down approach, i.e. by using available biomolecules This type of synthetic approach has so far been unsuccesful, and the lack of appropriate models of the synthetic protocell cycle might be needed to guide future experiments. In this paper we present a simple biochemically and physically feasible model of cell replication involving a discrete semi-permeable vesicle with an internal minimal metabolism involving two reactive centers. It is shown that such a system can effectively undergo a whole cell replication cycle. The model can be used as a basic framework to model whole protocell dynamics including more complex sets of reactions. The possible implementation of our design in future synthetic protocells is outlined.
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"abstract": "Cellular life requires the presence of a set of biochemical mechanisms in\norder to maintain a predictable process of growth and division. Several\nattempts have been made towards the building of minimal protocells from a\ntop-down approach, i.e. by using available biomolecules This type of synthetic\napproach has so far been unsuccesful, and the lack of appropriate models of the\nsynthetic protocell cycle might be needed to guide future experiments. In this\npaper we present a simple biochemically and physically feasible model of cell\nreplication involving a discrete semi-permeable vesicle with an internal\nminimal metabolism involving two reactive centers. It is shown that such a\nsystem can effectively undergo a whole cell replication cycle. The model can be\nused as a basic framework to model whole protocell dynamics including more\ncomplex sets of reactions. The possible implementation of our design in future\nsynthetic protocells is outlined.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0511041",
"authors": [
"Javier Macia",
"Ricard V. Sole"
],
"categories": [
"q-bio.CB",
"q-bio.SC"
],
"title": "Protocell Self-Reproduction in a Spatially Extended Metabolism-Vesicle System",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0511041"
},
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