Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK.
Nat Chem. 2009 Aug;1(5):377-83. doi: 10.1038/nchem.296. Epub 2009 Jul 24.
The design of systems with life-like properties from simple chemical components may offer insights into biological processes, with the ultimate goal of creating an artificial chemical cell that would be considered to be alive. Most efforts to create artificial cells have concentrated on systems based on complex natural molecules such as DNA and RNA. Here we have constructed a lipid-bound protometabolism that synthesizes complex carbohydrates from simple feedstocks, which are capable of engaging the natural quorum sensing mechanism of the marine bacterium Vibrio harveyi and stimulating a proportional bioluminescent response. This encapsulated system may represent the first step towards the realization of a cellular 'mimic' and a starting point for 'bottom-up' designs of other chemical cells, which could perhaps display complex behaviours such as communication with natural cells.
从简单的化学组分设计出具有类似生命特征的系统，可能有助于深入了解生物过程，并最终创造出一种被认为具有生命的人工化学细胞。大多数人工细胞的构建都集中在基于复杂天然分子（如 DNA 和 RNA）的系统上。在这里，我们构建了一个脂结合的原代代谢系统，它可以从简单的原料中合成复杂的碳水化合物，这些碳水化合物能够与海洋细菌哈维氏弧菌的天然群体感应机制结合，并刺激成比例的生物发光反应。这个封装系统可能代表着实现细胞“模拟”的第一步，也是其他化学细胞“自下而上”设计的起点，这些化学细胞可能具有与天然细胞进行通信等复杂行为。
