Biology Department, University of Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, I-00146 Rome, Italy.
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2013 Aug;24(4):633-8. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2013.01.002. Epub 2013 Jan 30.
The notion of minimal cells refers to cellular structures that contain the minimal and sufficient complexity to still be defined as living, or at least capable to display the most important features of biological cells. Here we briefly describe the laboratory construction of minimal cells, a project within the broader field of synthetic biology. In particular we discuss the advancements in the preparation of semi-synthetic cells based on the encapsulation of biochemicals inside liposomes, illustrating from the one hand the origin of this research and the most recent developments; and from the other the difficulties and limits of the approach. The role of physicochemical understandings is greatly emphasized.
最小细胞的概念是指包含最小和足够复杂性的细胞结构，仍然可以被定义为活细胞，或者至少能够表现出生物细胞的最重要特征。在这里，我们简要描述了最小细胞的实验室构建，这是合成生物学领域内的一个项目。具体来说，我们讨论了基于脂质体内部生化物质包封的半合成细胞的制备进展，一方面说明了这项研究的起源和最新进展；另一方面说明了该方法的困难和局限性。物理化学理解的作用被大大强调。
