Self-Emergent Protocells Generated in an Aqueous Solution with Binary Macromolecules through Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation |
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Authors: | Dr Hiroki Sakuta Fumika Fujita Dr Tsutomu Hamada Dr Masahito Hayashi Dr Kingo Takiguchi Dr Kanta Tsumoto Prof?Dr Kenichi Yoshikawa |
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Affiliation: | 1. Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Tataramiyakodani 1–3, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, 610-0394 Japan;2. School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi, Ishikawa, 923-1292 Japan;3. Department of Frontier Bioscience, Hosei University, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8584 Japan;4. Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8602 Japan;5. Division of Chemistry for Materials Graduate School of Engineering, Mie University, Kurimamachiya-cho 1577, Tsu, Mie, 514-8507 Japan |
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Abstract: | Recently, liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) has attracted considerable attention among researchers in the life sciences as a plausible mechanism for the generation of microstructures inside cells. LLPS occurs through multiple nonspecific interactions and does not always require a lock-and-key interaction with a binary macromolecular solution. The remarkable features of LLPS include the non-uniform localization and concentration of solutes, resulting in the ability to isolate certain chemical systems and thereby parallelize multiple chemical reactions within the limited space of a living cell. We report that, by using the macromolecules, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and dextran, that exhibit LLPS in an aqueous solution, cell-sized liposomes are spontaneously formed therein in the presence of phospholipids. In this system, LLPS is generated through the depletion effect of macromolecules. The results showed that cell-like microdroplets entrapping DNA wrapped by a phospholipid layer emerge in a self-organized manner. |
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Keywords: | DNA liquid–liquid phase separation membraneless cell organelles microdroplets synthetic biology |
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