Cell-free biogenesis of bacterial division proto-rings that can constrict liposomes

A major challenge towards the realization of an autonomous synthetic cell resides in the encoding of a division machinery in a genetic programme. In the bacterial cell cycle, the assembly of cytoskeletal proteins into a ring defines the division site. At the onset of the formation of the Escherichia coli divisome, a proto-ring consisting of...

De novo synthesized Min proteins drive oscillatory liposome deformation and regulate FtsA-FtsZ cytoskeletal patterns

The Min biochemical network regulates bacterial cell division and is a prototypical example of self-organizing molecular systems. Cell-free assays relying on purified proteins have shown that MinE and MinD self-organize into surface waves and oscillatory patterns. In the context of developing a synthetic cell from elementary biological...