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Protein-free division of giant unilamellar vesicles controlled by enzymatic activity

View ORCID ProfileYannik Dreher, View ORCID ProfileJoachim P. Spatz, View ORCID ProfileKerstin Göpfrich
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2019.12.30.881557
Yannik Dreher
1Biophysical Engineering Group, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstraße 29, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany
2Department of Cellular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstraße 29, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany
3Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 253, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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Joachim P. Spatz
2Department of Cellular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstraße 29, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany
3Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 253, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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Kerstin Göpfrich
1Biophysical Engineering Group, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstraße 29, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany
2Department of Cellular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstraße 29, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany
3Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 253, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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  • For correspondence: kerstin.goepfrich@mr.mpg.de
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Abstract

Cell division is one of the hallmarks of life. Success in the bottom-up assembly of synthetic cells will, no doubt, depend on strategies for the controlled autonomous division of protocellular compartments. Here, we describe the protein-free division of giant unilamellar lipid vesicles (GUVs) based on the combination of two physical principles – phase separation and osmosis. We visualize the division process with confocal fluorescence microscopy and derive a conceptual model based on the vesicle geometry. The model successfully predicts the shape transformations over time as well as the time point of the final pinching of the daughter vesicles. Remarkably, we show that two fundamentally distinct yet highly abundant processes – water evaporation and metabolic activity – can both regulate the autonomous division of GUVs. Our work may hint towards mechanisms that governed the division of protocells and adds to the strategic toolbox of bottom-up synthetic biology with its vision of bringing matter to life.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
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Posted December 30, 2019.
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Protein-free division of giant unilamellar vesicles controlled by enzymatic activity
Yannik Dreher, Joachim P. Spatz, Kerstin Göpfrich
bioRxiv 2019.12.30.881557; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2019.12.30.881557
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Protein-free division of giant unilamellar vesicles controlled by enzymatic activity
Yannik Dreher, Joachim P. Spatz, Kerstin Göpfrich
bioRxiv 2019.12.30.881557; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2019.12.30.881557

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