Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, 28049 Madrid, Spain; Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Trends Cell Biol. 2022 Nov;32(11):900-907. doi: 10.1016/j.tcb.2022.06.009. Epub 2022 Jul 27.
Genomically minimal cells, such as JCVI-syn3.0 and JCVI-syn3A, offer an empowering framework to study relationships between genotype and phenotype. With a polygenic basis, the fundamental physiological process of cell division depends on multiple genes of known and unknown function in JCVI-syn3A. A physical description of cellular mechanics can further understanding of the contributions of genes to cell division in this genomically minimal context. We review current knowledge on genes in JCVI-syn3A contributing to two physical parameters relevant to cell division, namely, the surface-area-to-volume ratio and membrane curvature. This physical view of JCVI-syn3A may inform the attribution of gene functions and conserved processes in bacterial physiology, as well as whole-cell models and the engineering of synthetic cells.
基因组最小的细胞，如 JCVI-syn3.0 和 JCVI-syn3A，为研究基因型和表型之间的关系提供了有力的框架。以多基因为基础，细胞分裂的基本生理过程依赖于 JCVI-syn3A 中已知和未知功能的多个基因。对细胞力学的物理描述可以进一步了解在这种基因组最小的背景下，基因对细胞分裂的贡献。我们回顾了关于 JCVI-syn3A 中参与两个与细胞分裂相关的物理参数的基因的现有知识，即表面积与体积比和膜曲率。这种对 JCVI-syn3A 的物理看法可以为细菌生理学中的基因功能和保守过程、全细胞模型以及合成细胞的工程提供信息。
