Toward synthetic life—Emergence, growth, creation of offspring, decay, and rescue of fuel-dependent synthetic cells
Monika Wenisch, Yinqing Li, Marius G. Braun, Lukas Eylert, Fabian Späth, Simone Poprawa, Bernhard Rieger, Christopher V. Synatschke, Henrike Niederholtmeyer, Job Boekhoven
Abstract
The de novo synthesis of life from non-living matter represents a bold scientific challenge, advancing our understanding of life's minimal requirements and offering revolutionary applications in biotechnology. We explore fuel-dependent synthetic cells based on complex coacervate droplets, which lack membranes and readily take up reactants. Given their fuel-dependent nature, these droplets emerge and grow when fuel is abundant but dissolve under starvation conditions, mimicking the non-equilibrium nature of life. However, their ability to produce offspring—a key requirement for life—has remained elusive. Moreover, their rescue in repetitive fueling-starvation experiments has not been demonstrated. Our work elucidates a mechanism of producing offspring by synthetic cells driven by solid-like speckles in droplets liberated as offspring. By fine-tuning parameters, we control offspring number and survival. Finally, refueling sustains second-generation synthetic cells. This system provides a platform for coupling offspring production with self-replicating molecules, paving the way for synthetic cells capable of Darwinian evolution.