Engineering minimal cell walls for the emergence of shape in protocells (P14)

我们的目标是重建原始细胞壁的出现，使原始细胞呈现非球形，根据化石记录，这在生命进化的非常早期就发生了。具体地说，我们将观察基本过程，如反应扩散诱导极性，以及组装原始分裂机械，将如何受益于原始细胞从球形向非球形的转变，以及有壁的原始细胞是否对环境压力表现出更强的稳健性。由于细菌和古生菌细胞壁所需的生物机械太复杂，不能在最小的系统中重组，我们将使用通过交联化或硅化硬化的DNA折纸在囊泡膜上构建一个简单的外壳。

We aim to reconstitute the emergence of a primitive cell wall for protocells to assume non-spherical shapes, which according to fossil records have occurred very early in the evolution of life. Specifically, we will observe how fundamental processes like polarity induction by reaction-diffusion, and the assembly of a primitive division machinery, will benefit from the transition from spherical to non-spherical shapes of protocells, and whether the walled protocells show greater robustness against environmental stresses. As the biological machineries required for bacterial and archaeal cell walls are too complex to be reconstituted in minimal systems, we will use DNA origami stiffened by cross-linking or silicification to construct a simplistic shell on vesicle membranes.