An FtsZ-centric approach to divide gene-expressing liposomes

The creation of artificial cells with the minimal set of components to exhibit self-maintenance, self-reproducibility and evolvability (in other words, to be considered alive) is one of the most exciting areas within the field of synthetic biology. Such entities, here called minimal cells, are constructed by either the top-down or bottom-up approach. The top-down approach attempts to realize a minimal cell starting from an already existing unicellular organism and stripping down non-essential genes. In the bottom-up approach, separate biochemicals, such as phospholipids, DNA and proteins are assembled from scratch to reconstitute cell-like functions. On the way to tackle this curiosity-driven building challenge, we also expect to learn more about the most fundamental processes that define a living cell.