A synthetic cell with 473 genes, capable of replication

A synthetic cell with 473 genes

Jcvi-syn3a is the new version of the microorganism with a genome created in the laboratory: 7 more genes allow it to divide and replicate in a normal way, similar to what happens in nature

(image: © Emily Pelletier) A another step to reveal the secrets of life has been taken. Researchers from the J.Craig Venter Institute (Jcvi), the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Bits and Atoms have created a new version of the artificial cell, a microorganism whose genome has been fully synthesized in the laboratory . It is called Jcvi-syn3a and has 7 more genes than its predecessor Jcvi-syn3.0, essential for it to be able to divide and originate other similar cells. The study was published in the scientific journal Cell.

From a bacterium to the synthetic cell

The story of the first synthetic unicellular organism begins in 2010, when at Jcvi they emptied a cell of its nucleus of mycoplasma to insert a fully synthetic genome, computer designed and assembled in the laboratory. They called the new being Jcvi-syn1.0, which closely resembled natural mycoplasma.

To find out what the building blocks of life were, then, researchers began to disassemble the synthetic genome piece by piece to create a new super-simple version of the synthetic microorganism with just over 450 genes (for comparison an E. coli bacterium has 4 thousand and a human cell about 30 thousand): Jcvi-syn3.0.

Jcvi-syn3.0 , however, perhaps it was a little too simple. It was able to divide and originate other identical cells from a genetic point of view, but very different in appearance: some were much larger, others seemed to form filaments or to be joined together like a sort of pearl necklace. In short, the replication process was altered.

The 7 genes

Scientists took a long time to understand what was wrong with the minimal microorganism Jcvi-syn3.0. Years of genetic engineering work in which genes were removed and added to identify the battery that would guarantee the cell to replicate normally, that is, giving life to other cells that are uniform both from a genetic and morphological point of view. The new version is called Jcvi-syn3a and has 473 genes.

Seven are the genes that the team has identified as essential to ensure the proper development of the replication process. However, researchers have not yet been able to understand the exact function of 5 of them. But the meaning of the project is precisely this: to analyze life brick by brick, gear by gear, until all its mysteries are revealed.

This is not a delusion of omnipotence: the information we will acquire will be applied in various fields . Synthetic organisms such as Jcvi-syn3a or even better could in the future be used to produce medicines, but also food and fuels, or they could be exploited as microscopic computers.


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Synthetic bacteria-like 'minimal' cell can now divide and grow like natural cells do

© Provided by Firstpost Synthetic bacteria-like 'minimal' cell can now divide and grow like natural cells do

In a remarkable milestone for genetic engineering, scientists have built a synthetic one-celled organism that can grow and divide similarly to a normal cell. The organism, an artificial, unicellular bacteria-like living being named JCVI-syn3.0, mimics the natural cycle of cell division in living beings. JCVI-syn3.0, the product of the scientists' pursuit to create a 'minimal cell', has a total of 473 genes – less than any self-sustaining living organism known to humankind. The artificial cell was developed five years ago, but the division process wasn't nearly as perfect as in nature. The synthetic cell could reproduce by multiplication, but gave rise to new cells that had different shapes and sizes unlike the identical twins that result from a natural dividing cell.

Its creators at the J Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Bits and Atoms, spent years hunting for genes that would help restore normal cell division to JCVI-syn3.0. They knew this was possible because an earlier iteration of the artificial 'minimal cell', called JCVI-syn1.0 resembled living cells in size, and underwent normal cell division.

© Provided by Firstpost JCVI-syn3.0 is a record-setting artificial cell with the fewest number of genes, 473. Image Credit: Mark Ellisman/NCIMR

Scientists took on the laborious task of constructing dozens of mutants in which genes – both as individual genes, and in groups – were added back to JCVI-syn3.0. They found a specific set of seven otherwise non-essential genes that allowed JCVI-syn3A to divide and resemble a modern bacterial cell. Two of these genes – ftsZ and sepF – are known to be involved in cell division, and the functions of the other five genes in cell division has been established for the first time in this study.

These seven genes, when added to the mix, managed to 'tame' the disruptive behaviour of JCVI-syn3.0. The resulting cell, called JCVI-syn3A, has 19 new genes out of which 7 are thought to enable the artificial cell to reproduce in a more regular manner.

There are still many uncertainties and unknowns about JCVI-syn3A, like what the other 8 of 19 new genes do to make cell division happen more naturally. Even of the five genes that have supposedly been linked to cell division, only two genes have known functions. It is still now known how the other five contribute to JCVI-syn3A's consistency during reproduction, but one thing is certain: this tiny genome now represents the new standard for experimentation that could help us characterize just what these genes do inside organisms.

'JCVI-syn3A offers a compelling minimal model for bacterial physiology, and platform for engineering biology,' the researchers explain in their paper.

'We want to understand the fundamental design rules of life. If this cell can help us to discover and understand those rules, then we're off to the races,' said Elizabeth Strychalski, leader of NIST's Cellular Engineering Group, in a statement. The achievement comes on the back of decades of genomic sequencing and analysis to unravel the individual genes important for the process of cell division in living organisms.

The team published their findings in the journal Cell.