A Tiny Droplet With Big Implications
The work, published online on July 1 by a team led by Associate Professor Kate Adamala, represents the first time scientists have combined multiple cellular functions — growth, genomic replication, and division — within a single synthetic system. SpudCell consists of about 150 to 200 molecules and a compact genome encoding just 36 genes, roughly 50 times smaller than a typical bacterium’s. science.org news8000.com ft.com
The system relies on the PURE system, a well-established toolkit of biological molecules including proteins and ribosomes needed to transcribe DNA and translate RNA into proteins. SpudCell’s genome encodes molecular surface tags that attract “feeder vesicles” — smaller liposomes carrying enzymes and nutrients the cell needs to grow. A separate set of tags triggers division when an external molecule, streptavidin, is added to the surrounding medium. science.org
“Being able to incorporate all of these modules together in a synthetic cell is the feat that the field has been waiting for,” said Job Boekhoven, a systems chemist at the Technical University of Munich, while cautioning that the claims still require peer review. science.org
Limitations and the Road Ahead
SpudCell remains far from a living cell. Division is inefficient: researchers must physically force cells through a membrane with tiny pores to separate them. After five division cycles, only about 30 percent of daughter cells retain the complete genome. The ribosomes degrade over time, and SpudCell has no mechanism to produce new ones. mezha.net science.org
In one experiment, Adamala’s team introduced a mutation that allowed some SpudCells to produce more surface tags, enabling them to consume more nutrients and grow faster. These mutant cells outcompeted unmutated ones over five cycles — a hint at selection, though not true Darwinian evolution since the mutation was artificially introduced and division was mechanically assisted. science.org
Notably, the paper has not yet undergone formal peer review. Adamala shared the 190-page manuscript with journalists under embargo before uploading it to bioRxiv, after she said it was rejected by the journal Cell. She plans to submit to a new journal soon. science.org
Biotic: A New Institution for Open Synthetic Cell Research
Alongside the announcement, Adamala, Stanford synthetic biologist Drew Endy, and others established Biotic, a public-benefit research organization intended to unify research teams and share the technology openly. The organization has secured initial funding “on the order of $10 million,” according to Endy, and plans to distribute most of it as research grants beginning in September. science.org
“This is akin to a spark,” Adamala said of her decision to release the findings quickly, even before peer review, to accelerate the broader synthetic cell effort. science.org
