In this article, the authors encapsulate macromolecules and cellular machinery to show how cellular metabolism may have spontaneously occurred. By monitoring the vesicles with cryo-TEM, they were able to quantify the contents to show that encapsulated molecules varied from the theoretical distribution of molecules. The researchers were also able to encapsulate cellular lysate and monitor the production of GFP in a vesicle. From these experiments, the authors were able to conclude that spontaneous formation of vesicles may have lead to simple cellular metabolism. I thought the article was interesting because it investigated basic cellular function and operation from a ground-up approach.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Spontaneous Crowding of Ribosomes and Proteins inside Vesicles: A Possible Mechanism for the Origin of Cell Metabolism
In this article, the authors encapsulate macromolecules and cellular machinery to show how cellular metabolism may have spontaneously occurred. By monitoring the vesicles with cryo-TEM, they were able to quantify the contents to show that encapsulated molecules varied from the theoretical distribution of molecules. The researchers were also able to encapsulate cellular lysate and monitor the production of GFP in a vesicle. From these experiments, the authors were able to conclude that spontaneous formation of vesicles may have lead to simple cellular metabolism. I thought the article was interesting because it investigated basic cellular function and operation from a ground-up approach.
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They make a bold connection between being able to capture proteins in a lipid to the origins of cellular metabolism. In the figure shown they state that path I (empty vesicle) occurs much faster than path II (populated vesicle). Wouldn't kinetics always drive "empty" lipid structures? It seems like a statistically unlikely random event of spontaneous accumulation of macromolecules; if this is how nature developed simple cellular machinery it would be shocking. There has to be pre-defined interactions between the macromolecules prior to cellular formation. Definitely interesting transcription/translation encapsulation though.
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