Synthetic Non-Equilibrium Vesicle Systems for Physicochemical Homeostasis and Membrane Transport

Date

Jun 20, 2024

Time

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Speaker

Bert Poolman

Affiliation

University of Groningen

Series

MPI-CBG Thursday Seminar

Language

en

Main Topic

Biologie

Host

Eric Geertsma

Description

One of the grand challenges in synthetic biology is the construction of selectively open molecular systems integrated into cell-like containers with control of solute fluxes and a constant supply of energy to fuel ATP-requiring processes. Such systems should enable long-term metabolic energy conservation and physicochemical homeostasis and a better understanding of how living cells perform these tasks. In living cells metabolic reaction networks orchestrate the supply, regeneration, and removal of energy. These energy modules are responsible for the almost flawless exertion of all cellular functions, and thus, sustaining life. In contrast, the prolonged performance of man-made non-equilibrium systems is often limited by the availability of fuel molecules or the accumulation of waste products due to a lack of control mechanisms. Here, we present synthetic vesicle systems that allow for the compartmentalization of ATP-driven non-equilibrium processes and the recycling of ATP by means of the continuous import of ATP into the lumen and concomitant export of ADP from the lumen. The ATP and proton motive force generating networks we developed for studying metabolic processes in vesicles perform at least an order of magnitude better than other systems described so far. They enable control of the volume, osmotic pressure, ionic strength and pH of the vesicles, and allow for cross-feeding of ATP between different populations of vesicles, and the synthesis of lipid precursors and membrane growth.

Last modified: Jun 21, 2024, 7:38:10 AM