TY - JOUR T1 - Reaction-diffusion patterning of DNA-based artificial cells JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/2022.03.24.485404 SP - 2022.03.24.485404 AU - Adrian Leathers AU - Michal Walczak AU - Ryan A. Brady AU - Assala Al Samad AU - Jurij Kotar AU - Michael J. Booth AU - Pietro Cicuta AU - Lorenzo Di Michele Y1 - 2022/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/03/24/2022.03.24.485404.abstract N2 - Biological cells display complex internal architectures, with distinct micro environments that establish the chemical heterogeneity needed to sustain cellular functions. The continued efforts to create advanced cell mimics – artificial cells – demands strategies to robustly engineer micro-compartmentalised architectures, where the molecular makeup of distinct regions is coupled with localised functionalities. Here, we introduce a platform for constructing membrane-less artificial cells from the self-assembly of synthetic DNA nanostructures, in which internal domains can be established thanks to a rationally designed reactiondiffusion process. The method, rationalised through numerical modelling, enables the formation of up to five distinct and addressable environments, in which functional moieties can be localised. As a proof-of-concept, we apply this platform to build artificial cells in which a prototypical nucleus synthesises fluorescent RNA aptamers, which then accumulate in a surrounding storage shell, thus demonstrating spatial segregation of functionalities reminiscent of that observed in biological cells.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest. ER -