Enzymatic RNA replication in self-reproducing vesicles: an approach to a minimal cell.

The replication of a RNA template catalyzed by Q beta replicase was obtained in oleic acid/oleate vesicles simultaneously with the self-reproduction of the vesicles themselves. This was accomplished by entrapping the enzyme Q beta replicase, the RNA template, and the ribonucleotides ATP, CTP, GTP, and UTP inside the vesicles. The water-insoluble oleic anhydride was then added externally. It binds to the vesicle bilayer where it is catalytically hydrolyzed yielding the carboxylate surfactant in situ, which then brings about growth and reproduction of the vesicles themselves. This experiment is presented as a first approach to a synthetic minimal cell, in which the reproduction of the membrane and the replication of the internalized RNA molecules proceed simultaneously.