Hürtgen Daniel, Vogel Sven Kenjiro, Schwille Petra
Department of Systems and Synthetic Microbiology, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology & LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology (Synmikro), D-35043, Marburg, Germany.
Department of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry , Am Klopferspitz 18, D-82152, Martinsried, Germany.
Adv Biosyst. 2019 Jun;3(6):e1800311. doi: 10.1002/adbi.201800311. Epub 2019 Apr 1.
Life implies motion. In cells, protein-based active molecular machines drive cell locomotion and intracellular transport, control cell shape, segregate genetic material, and split a cell in two parts. Key players among molecular machines driving these various cell functions are the cytoskeleton and motor proteins that convert chemical bound energy into mechanical work. Findings over the last decades in the field of in vitro reconstitutions of cytoskeletal and motor proteins have elucidated mechanistic details of these active protein systems. For example, a complex spatial and temporal interplay between the cytoskeleton and motor proteins is responsible for the translation of chemically bound energy into (directed) movement and force generation, which eventually governs the emergence of complex cellular functions. Understanding these mechanisms and the design principles of the cytoskeleton and motor proteins builds the basis for mimicking fundamental life processes. Here, a brief overview of actin, prokaryotic actin analogs, and motor proteins and their potential role in the design of a minimal cell from the bottom-up is provided.
生命意味着运动。在细胞中，基于蛋白质的活性分子机器驱动细胞运动和细胞内运输，控制细胞形状，分离遗传物质，并将细胞一分为二。驱动这些各种细胞功能的分子机器中的关键参与者是细胞骨架和将化学结合能转化为机械功的马达蛋白。过去几十年在细胞骨架和马达蛋白的体外重组领域的研究结果阐明了这些活性蛋白质系统的机制细节。例如，细胞骨架和马达蛋白之间复杂的时空相互作用负责将化学结合能转化为（定向）运动和力的产生，这最终决定了复杂细胞功能的出现。理解这些机制以及细胞骨架和马达蛋白的设计原则为模拟基本生命过程奠定了基础。在此，简要概述肌动蛋白、原核肌动蛋白类似物和马达蛋白及其在自下而上设计最小细胞中的潜在作用。
