Biologists at the University of Minnesota have achieved a groundbreaking feat in bioengineering by creating synthetic cells from non-living chemical components. These innovative synthetic cells, known as spud cells, can complete a full life cycle—absorbing nutrients, growing, replicating genetic material, dividing into daughter cells, and passing beneficial mutations to future generations.
Cell cycle of a synthetic cell with a 90 kbp genome undergoing selective replication. Image credit: Gaut et al., doi: 10.64898/2026.07.01.735724.
“DNA is the programming of all living things,” stated Dr. Katarzyna Adamara, the corresponding author.
The human genome contains about 3 billion base pairs. Interestingly, biologists estimate that the genome of a living cell can be as small as 113,000 base pairs. In contrast, the genome of SpudCell is even smaller, measuring 90,000 base pairs.
Unlike natural cells that have inherited mechanisms developed over billions of years, these synthetic cells are constructed from scratch using well-defined chemical components. They utilize a fatty membrane in the form of liposomes, a minimal protein synthesis system, and a genome distributed across seven to eight plasmids.
The designed genome encodes everything a cell needs to feed itself, replicate its DNA, grow, and divide.
To nourish these synthetic cells, they merge with small “feeder” liposomes that provide lipids, enzymes, and essential small molecules. This fusion is facilitated by a modified bacterial pore protein produced by the synthetic cell, which bears a chemical tag that binds to a corresponding tag on the feeder liposome, resulting in fusion and the transfer of fresh raw materials. Researchers compare this process to a predator intentionally attracting prey.
Through repeated nourishment, these cells utilize enzymes obtained from viral bacteria to replicate their DNA and divide mechanically into “daughter” cells. By tracking chemical markers integrated into each round of feeder liposomes, the researchers monitored a lineage of cells over five generations. Despite lacking a cytoskeleton or systems for sorting DNA—which natural cells depend on—approximately 30% of the surviving daughter cells retained complete copies of their seven-part genome.
The scientists then tested the concept of Darwinian selection within this simplified system. They engineered a version of the feeding protein with a stronger genetic promoter, enhancing the efficiency of fusion with feeder liposomes.
When mixing stronger and weaker cell variants to observe competition over five generations, the faster-growing cells gradually increased their population share, rising from equal distribution to as high as 61% in one experiment. When feeder liposomes became scarce, mimicking limited resource availability, the advantage of fast-growing cells grew even more pronounced, as they eventually outnumbered slower ones by more than two to one.
“This is probably the most thrilling project I’ve ever worked on,” expressed Dr. Adamara. “We have chemically recreated what was previously achievable only through biological processes: the full behavior of living cells.”
“This evidence shows that fundamental life functions, such as growth and reproduction, do not require any mystical or complex systems.”
Moreover, the authors developed division machinery independent of the cell’s skeleton, leveraging proteins that cluster on the surface to pull membranes apart. They demonstrated that this genetically encoded division could also confer a feeding advantage, allowing faster-growing cells to produce more offspring.
“This study is merely the beginning,” Dr. Adamara remarked. “We have demonstrated that it is feasible to manipulate essential cellular functions.”
“An international collaboration is vital to fully harness the potential of this technology and ensure its robustness and practicality.”
These findings were detailed in a study, published as a preprint on July 2nd on BioRxiv.org.
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Nathaniel J. Gaut et al. 2026. A chemically defined synthetic cell capable of growth and reproduction. BioRxiv, doi: 10.64898/2026.07.01.735724
Source: www.sci.news
