Giaveri S, Abil Z, Kohyama S, Fu M, Levrier A, Adamala K, Chinantuya W, Dekker C, Deng N, Fredens J, Hagino K, Jahnke K, Li X, Lindner A B, Liu C, Majumder S, Noireaux V, Schwille P, Westensee I N
Department of Biochemistry and Synthetic Metabolism, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany.
Ri.MED Foundation, Palermo, Italy.
Nat Commun. 2025 Aug 12;16(1):7488. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-62778-8.
Synthetic cells (SynCells) are artificial constructs designed to mimic cellular functions, offering insights into fundamental biology, as well as promising impact in the fields of medicine, biotechnology, and bioengineering. Achieving a functional SynCell from the bottom up, i.e. by assembling it from molecular components, requires a global collaboration to overcome the many challenges of engineering and assembling life-like modules while addressing biosafety, equity, and ethical concerns in order to guide responsible innovation. Here, we highlight major scientific hurdles, such as the integration of functional modules by ensuring compatibility across diverse synthetic subsystems, and we propose strategies to advance the field.
合成细胞（SynCells）是旨在模拟细胞功能的人工构建体，有助于深入了解基础生物学，并有望在医学、生物技术和生物工程领域产生影响。自下而上构建一个功能性合成细胞，即从分子组件组装它，需要全球合作来克服工程和组装类生命模块的诸多挑战，同时解决生物安全、公平性和伦理问题，以引导负责任的创新。在此，我们强调了主要的科学障碍，例如通过确保不同合成子系统之间的兼容性来整合功能模块，并提出了推动该领域发展的策略。
