A motor for cell-free metabolism

Cell-free system composed of interdependent metabolic (Cetch cycle, pink) and ge
Cell-free system composed of interdependent metabolic (Cetch cycle, pink) and genetic (Pure, blue) levels that recursively interact with one another. Pure produces the missing enzymes for CO2 fixation ( i.e. Epi and Ecm) by transcription and translation (TX-TL) of Epi and Ecm genes; Cetch utilizes such enzymes for synthesizing glycine from CO2, thus sustaining protein production. Enzyme abbreviations Epi, Ecm, and RNAP stand for methylmalonyl-/ethylmalonyl-CoA epimerase, ethylmalonyl-CoA mutase, and RNA polymerase respectively. © MPI f. Terrestrial Microbiology/ Giaveri

Researchers have developed the first cell-free system in which genetic information and metabolism work together

Metabolic processes outside living cells only continue as long as they are supplied with building blocks from the outside. A team of Max Planck researchers led by Tobias Erb has now developed the first in vitro system inspired by nature that couples genetics and metabolism and can drive itself. It works outside cells and uses CO2 as a raw material.

The capacity of all living systems to develop, organise and sustain themselves is based upon a cyclical process in which genes and metabolism interact in parallel. ...

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