Overview
- This week the University of Minnesota team posted a preprint describing 'SpudCell,' a bottom-up synthetic system that the authors say completes a cell-like cycle of feeding, growth, genome replication and division for roughly five to ten generations.
- The construct is built from defined chemicals inside liposome membranes and carries a 90 kilobase-pair genome split across seven plasmids, plus a simplified protein-expression mix supplied by researchers.
- SpudCell cannot yet make its own ribosomes or sustain open-ended reproduction, so lineages stop after a few generations and the system depends on regular laboratory feeding and inputs.
- The team demonstrated selection in the system when a genetically altered variant that produced more of a fusion protein grew faster and outcompeted the original population after several generations.
- The results were released on the new public-benefit site Biotic and have not passed peer review, prompting calls for shared protocols, reproducibility standards and governance as researchers work to add ribosome self-production, stabilize the genome and extend longevity.